HOW TO INCREASE THE RANGE OF YOUR NEIGHBORNODE SYSTEM
NOTE: BEFORE WE BEGIN. Some of the information presented here has been duplicated.
In some cases it was done to amplify a concept discussed here.
The articles were parts of e-mail sent to various people and compiled here.
ALSO, Here is a handy link to definitions that may help your understanding:
http://www.jiwire.com/glossary.htm?index=1
ARTICLE 1
I have had enthusiastic and gratifying reports from many of my clients,(Neighbornode users).
As I expand the capabilities of my particular Neighbornode to include the adjacent streets;
more members check in weekly.
The current range of my particular Neighbornode is a little less than 3000 feet from my
outside antenna and includes the high school 1 block away.
Many of the students check in during lunch with their laptops from their cars in the parking lot.
I am not interested in increasing the range much past the existing 3000 foot radius as
I want to provide the best data rate possible to the existing clients.
IN fact, in the future I may have to scale it back for that exact reason.
It all depends on the number of clients that want to use my particular Neighbornode. As more
Neighbornodes come on line in my area, I will cut back accordingly. Neighbornode works best if it covers
your neighborhood well. The range project here at the lab is an experiment, all be it, a long running one.
Currently, My DSL connection is running at about 3 Megabits/second.
Presently that is enough to provide all users adequate thru-put.
In my opinion the EL-SPAZMO Friendly Service Neighbornode is a spectacular success in my neighborhood.
If any of the other Neighbornode stations wants to know how to expand the capabilities of their
particular Neighbornode access point to get more than the 300 foot range, or just more reliable
connections out to 1000 feet; have them drop me a line at my E-MAIL here.
That E-MAIL address is libawitz@hotmail.com
I'll be glad to tell them how I did it and how much it will cost.
The really cool thing about it all is that it is perfectly legal and uses off the shelf, plug N play, hardware.
Keep up the good work. The Neighbornode software works perfectly. It was well thought out.
Here is a range increasing hint.
Mounting the WRT54G unit higher and free of blocking obstructions is the key to long range.
The higher the better. Avoid the proximity of green foliage between you and the receiving site. Trees or other
growing things act like a screen to microwaves and will stop them cold.
void locating the device or antenna close to metal objects.
The 80 milliwatt power of a WRT54G with the addition of a 7.5 DB antenna
pair also sold by Linksys is more than adequate to go well over 2000 feet (if the unit were placed
on top of a tall building on the roof, outside, under a plastic bucket and no obstructions in the way),
between the unit and your laptop computer. The range would be astounding. Most people can't do that however.
That is why ancillary equipment must be added to boost the performance to acceptable range and thruput.
This requires a power booster for the base station and the incorporation of a high gain
antenna mounted in the clear remotely.
ARTICLE 2
I have experimented with both types of systems depicted here at my lab.
These are some of the results of my investigations.
Inquiries may be directed to libawitz@hotmail.com or now on my
Neighbornode's bulletin board: ELSPAZMO's FRIENDLY SERVICE NEIGHBORNODE
This shouldn't take too long. It's really quite simple, really.
We begin with the WRT54G which is set up in Neighbornode mode.
I immediately replaced the small 3-DBI antennas that came with the WRT54G with a Linksys 7.5 DBI
gain antenna pair and set the output of the WRT54G to 50 miliwatts, not the maximum power, (80 milliwatts).
A word of caution about setting the unit to full power, (80 milliwatts). Even though the unit is designed to
provide reliable operation at the maximum, (80 milliwatt) power;
At full transmit power the WRT54G will tend to overheat. Heat is the long term enemy of electronic equipment.
As a general rule of thumb, it is best to place the unit in as cool a location as possible.
Keep it out of the sun. Allow air to freely circulate around the unit. Use a small fan if necessary.
A small muffin fan is obtainable at Radio Shack. They sell a small 3" fan that can be placed off to one side of the
WRT54G. Let it blow across the unit. The air will go across the top and bottom, keeping the unit at ambient temperature.
To preclude possible crashes and damage to the WRT54G keep the power to 50 milliwatts if you don't use a cooling fan.
That accomplished, we continue: The 4 hardwired ports on that unit are
subject to the same login requirements the wireless clients are, as directed by the timer value which is defaulted to
24 hours on the WRT54G Neighbornode software. That means every computer
connected to the unit's hardwired port must login at least once every 24 hours
just like the wireless computer systems. This comes in very handy when a REPEATER
or WIRELESS ACCESS PORT is used in conjunction with the WRT54G; as I will explain shortly.
The timer function may be changed to once every 4 hours if desired and I recommend it.
This keeps malingers from hanging on for ever, (if you know what I mean).
Any way, there are two ways to increase the wireless range.
Assuming first you did the absolutely cheapest way to increase your range;
which means you having the WRT54G mounted in as high and clear as location
as possible in your home. That may mean putting the unit on the upper floor next to a
window or mounted on the roof in a rain proof plastic bucket or other water proof
plastic enclosure. Do what you need to locate the WRT54G as high and in the clear
as possible. That is the main thing to do. It's free, and you may not have to add
the high gain LINKSYS antennas mounted on the back of your unit. If you can't do
that then consider one of the two following methods to greatly increase the range
of your Neighbornode. The method you use will determine the overall cost.
I may as tell you now I opted for Method Two below but your situation may be different.
METHOD ONE
The easiest, is to set up is a repeater.
I use a HAWKING HWUR54G, (available at: http://www.compusa.com ).
In repeater mode, the SSID of the WRT54G must be entered as the main ID.
In that case is 'Neighbornode' as per the set up instructions
provided with your setup software from Neighbornode. The repeater's output SSID must be something different.
I use: 'Neighbornode - REPEATER' as the Repeater's SSID. When you do a search of
available networks on your portable computer in my neighborhood you would see both SSID's: Neighbornode &
Neighbornode - REPEATER; unless you're out of range of the original WRT54G.
Then you will only see the REPEATER. Mounting the repeater up high as possible
is most important. It must be in range of the main unit, (WRT54G) and yet far
away enough to effectively increase the range in the direction you want to extend
the coverage. A single Linksys 7 DBI gain antenna may be added to the repeater for
more gain. It is very easy to set up and only requires the repeater to be set to the
same channel as the Linksys WRT54G. I set both units to channel 2.
Linksys sets their channel to 6 as the default.
There are so many units on that channel they cause interference and
packet collisions with each other. That will diminish the range and performance
of your system. That why I choose channel 2 in my neighborhood. Your's may be different.
The one down side is that repeater is transmitting all
the time,( the WAN lamp is winking continuously on the repeater). All that means is
that the repeater itself causes a little interference and really uses
the channel. That is the reason why you should find an channel that
is relatively unused in your area. If an additional repeater is desired to further
increase the range of your system then that repeater must be placed in the
opposite direction that the first repeater is located and out of range of
the first repeater UNLESS on the second repeater the SSID of the first
repeater is used as the original SSID number, (in this case the original
SSID of the first repeater is: Neighbornode - REPEATER and the second
repeater's SSID must be something like: Neighbornode - REPEATER - MODE B and so on.
Why do that? Your house may be situated next to a hill or a tall building,
(with no potential clients),and you want to greatly
extend the range of your Neighbornode in one direction but not the other. A string of
repeaters may be used in one direction to increase effectivity while ignoring the empty
side of the hill or building behind you. Additionally, high gain directional antennas with a cardioid pattern
may be aimed in the direction desired as well. There are a lot of choices and configurations possible.
If multiple stringed repeaters are used,
you are then repeating the repeater, so to speak.
All repeaters must be on the same channel as the WRT54G. One further thing;
after programming, none of them have to be connected via hard wire to the WRT54G.
All they need is power and that is what makes it easy to deploy.
The REPEATER could be placed on the roof of your home or apartment
building in a plastic bucket and run off a battery that is solar charged
for completely wireless and autonomous operation. The small solar panel
can be attached to the top of the bucket and the unit placed at any convent
location within range of your WRT54G and yet high enough to provide long
range connection. Hawking also makes a 500 milliwatt power amplifier to
daisy chain in the antenna circuit to increase your transmitter power and
receive sensitivity considerably. The part number for the power gain unit
is the HSB1. Yes, you can use a mast mounted hi-gain (9-DBI omni-directional),
together with the power amp to make a powerful repeater. A 15 dbi antenna
may be used to increase the coverage even further. More about that later.
Be aware of the possible channel congestion problems requiring relocation
of the repeater further away from the WRT54G main unit. With the repeater
so close by, sometimes getting into your main Neighbornode unit may be
difficult. Getting into the main Neighbornode base unit,(WRT54G) may actually be blocked by the
REPEATER, especially if the 1/2 watt amplifier is used.
So, The use of the REPEATER mode is sometimes problematic. It is best to
mount the repeater as far away from your Neighbornode main unit as possible
and yet still be in range to communicate. When I used the high power
additional equipment with my repeater IE power amp and pole mounted hi-gain antenna;
I had to mount the WRT54G in the far corner of the lab and separate
the repeater some 500 feet from the WRT54G to prevent difficulties in
logging into the WRT54G directly rather than through the repeater.
It will not make any difference to you which unit you connect with as
the end results will be the same. When using a pole mounted gain antenna
that is free and clear, both the repeater and access point ranges will
be about 3000-7000 feet. This implies you are using a conventional
Linksys wireless card plugged into the side of your computer and you are
line of sight to the base station antenna. If a 14 DBI corner reflector
antenna is connected to a PCI card in your laptop, you could be 3+ miles
away from the access point antenna and still connect, that is, if you can
see the base antenna and aim your corner reflected antenna carefully.
Trying to push a microwave signal through walls greatly limits the effective
range of everything. Keep that in mind always. Put as few obstacles between
you, your clients and your Neighbornode main unit, repeater, or access point
as possible. In this case, less is more. One more thing:
If you decide to use a pole mounted antenna on the roof it will be advisable to
mount the repeater or access point and amplifier in a waterproof box (NEMA 400 type)
and connect to the high antenna with a very short,(less than 3 feet) pigtail or LMR400
cable to minimize cable loss. Using a long cable can be quite lossy at 2.4 GHZ.
Put the whole she-bang in the waterproof box and mount it just below the high gain antenna.
All that is required is to run power and the category 5 cable,
(In the case you decide to make it an access point you need the addition of a cat5 cable that
is connected to one of the available 4 ports of the WRT54G, but not when used as a repeater.
Yeah, I'll explain the use of the cat5 cable later too.)
Using the access point method depicted next in
Method Two will provide better service.
METHOD TWO
Uses an access point connected to port one of the WRT54G.
I have set the SSID of the access point to be: Neighbornode - MODE B.
You can use anything you want but include the word:
Neighbornode as part of your SSID. I use the HAWKING HWBA54G wireless
access point and bridge I also use the HSB1 power amplifier. Also in that
configuration is the use of a high gain 9 DBI gain roof mounted omni-directional
antenna fed with LMR-400 cable that is 15 feet long. I use
the HWBA54G it in access point mode. The access point needs to be
connected to the WRT54G' port connection via a cat5 LAN cable. I
connect it to port 1 but you can connect it to any one of the 4 ports you like.
So, I mount the high gain antenna on the roof on top of a pole,
mounted to the outside of the house just outside the side entrance to my LAB.
I run the cable down the pole and into an access port just above the door.
It is a very short cable. The shorter the better.
Just inside the door I connect the other end of the cable to the
output of the HSB1, which is connected via a pigtail to the HWBA54G.
Both units are powered by a wall wart transformer.
A 75' cat 5 cable runs from the access point to the port 1 of the WRT54G
located else where in the lab.
With a category 5 cable, you can separate the access point almost 300
feet away from the WRT54G. Actually, that is true no matter what device you use.
Once set up, the access point reliably
allows wireless connections from computers very far away,
(several thousand feet), without the use of repeaters. I also put the
access point on a different channel than my WRT54G to further minimize
interference. You can't do that with a REPEATER if you recall.
So, Lets review: A repeater is simple to implement. No hardwire
connection is required between the repeater and WRT54G.
It's downside is greater channel congestion with sometimes packet
collisions requiring the re-sending of data. That slows things down a bit.
Limited connectivity. Only a handful of stations can connect
simultaneously on a repeater.
An access point however, provides greater thru-put, further range,
less channel congestion, more reliable connections with more power
& sensitivity. A category 5 cable is required for constant connection
with the WRT54G; and the overall expense is greater but the system
performance is much better. I Use this method because I wish to further
experiment with range increasing techniques & because I had one
laying around in the LAB..
As I said, using HAWKING access points in repeater mode is the easiest
way to greatly extend your Neighbornode’s coverage area.
I also indicated that method was sometimes problematic.
Still another solution to the range question is to use two
access points back to back in BRIDGE mode.
In this case the WAN ports of each access point are connected
together with a short Category 5 cable. Different antennas may be connected
to each of the access points, depending on your situation. The coverage area will begin
anew from that point. The Neighbornode SSID may be used with
all units and they will reliably relay connections from the
local computer to your master Neighbornode WRT54G box.
This is especially useful in very long extensions.
Corner reflector antennas or Yagis may be used to ‘beam’
your signal to remote regions or to another bridge system.
A couple Ham friend of mine used that method, along with ½ watt
amplifiers from Hawking and 4 foot dish antennas to relay their
signal 350 miles up the SanJauquin Valley out here in California.
It took two bridge systems in between base stations to complete the hookup.
They also had to adjust the software so the timeout function was increased so the
units would not start to resend the data because they did not get a timely response
from the remote unit. Even traveling at the speed of light, distances over 18 miles have to
be adjusted to compensate for the propagation delays.
It can really get wild!
I have the other three ports on my WRT54G to play with.
I may add another access point to port Two and connect it to
a dish antenna (42 inches) and aim it at my ranch in the mountains
18 miles away, as the crow flies. I will be able to connect using
the camera tripod mounted 14 DBI corner reflector aimed back at the
dish. Neet huh?. Yeah, I have a Sprint wireless card for my computer
but who wants to pay for all that when I can connect to my own network
& the internet, for free, at home, from my ranch home? It will require
the use of the 500 milliwatt amplifiers on each end however.
Using that setup, the possible range is over 80 miles.
I would have to do some adjustment delays to the timeout before
repeating of packets to prevent repeats and collisions.
If you are into experimentation clearly the access point route is
the way to go.
There you have it except for the omni directional antennas I used.
There are several vendors who supply antennas.
I like using the HAWKING equipment because they sell everything,
including the cable, that is needed for your installation; all of it
available at the CompUSA web site. There are other vendors who offer
a 16 DBI antenna that is omni-directional but cost much more than the
9-DBI omnidirectional antenna provided by HAWKING. Be advised,
HAWKING predicates their performance with the use of their 10 foot
cable and some of the other suppliers don't. That really means the gain of
the HAWKING antenna is better than some of the other published antennas who
don't take into consideration feed line length in their gain
calculations and subsequent gain publication. Their gain figures may
indicate higher antenna gain but their performance may be considerably
less. Use HAWKING equipment for the best results. There are notable exceptions
however. WIFI-Link is one of those 'good' guys that publish honest specs.
If you are interested go here:
http://www.wifi-link.com/product.php?action=product&class1_id=1&class2_id=50&class3_id=164&product_id=19
It probably best to copy and paste the url into your browser's URL line, heh heh.
No, I do not own stock in HAWKING or WIFI-LINK. All of the hardware mentioned here
is perfectly legal to use and is available off the shelf at your local
computer supply store or via the network at one of the online computer
equipment supply houses. I use COMPUSA because their prices are reasonable,
they are pleasant to do business with and they ship overnight. Have fun.
Oh yeah, before I forget. If you really want to vastly increase your range far past
what we have discussed here; then get yourself an amateur radio license.
Under FCC part 97, vastly increased power levels are allowed.
Very high gain antennas are also allowed under Part 97.
This increased power level with the resulting increased
energy density will provide greater signal to noise ratios allowing greater transmission
speeds over longer distances. Several manufacturers will provide higher power amplifiers to
any amateur radio operator who provides a copy of their license.
Now we are talking power levels of 10, 20 watts, or more!. Really cool! Think about it.
Check out: http://www.arrl.org.
Modified 10/27/2005
FAQ
Question:
HOW CAN I PROVIDE A NEIGHBORNODE SERVICE WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING THE SECURITY OF MY HOME OR OFFICE SYSTEM?
Answer:
I am going to assume you already have an existing home network or one that needs to be protected.
I also am going to assume the home network is made by Linksys, but it doesn’t have to be.
Most are but this technique will work with any system. As you know the default IP of the
Linksys router & switch is 192.168.1.1. This is the same no matter how many ports
your router/switch has.
Hook your WRT54G to an available port on the main switch.
Change the IP of the WRT54G from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1.
When you do that the systems will be totally separate from each other.
People connected to the WRT54G will not be able to see the computers connected
to the main router and visa versa. This is a technique used by technicians to
separate sales, lab, etc from payroll for instance. Yet they all will have access
to the INTERNET. Now, the main point to remember is if you are using like equipment
like Linksys, the IP’s of the routers have to be different if you want to keep them separate.
If you want to share the whole home network with the world then the IP of the second
router (WRT54G) would be set to 192.168.1.2. That is why it is good to change the WRT54G’s IP.
There is one more thing to remember. Computers connected to other available 4 ports of the WRT54G
can talk to each other and can see each other’s files if file sharing is enabled on those
computers. It is best to hook only access points to the available ports of the WRT54G;
and that only if you want to expand the capability of your Neighbornode system.
Question:
WILL USERS ON THE NEIGHBORNODE SLOW DOWN MY INTERNET BROWSING?
Answer:
Yes, a little but it is barely noticeable. Really!
If you are concerned you can slow down the data thruput of the
WRT54G by setting the connect speed to 1 or 2 instead of 56 KB
or somewhere in between.
Your Linksys will automatically slow down the thruput in marginal
conditions. You can permanently slow down the ‘public’ connection
leaving more for you. The impact of an occasional user or several
simultaneous users is minor.
Anyway, providing a little internet access & bulletin board to your
friends is why you are doing this in the first place. Isn’t it?
Don’t worry about it. Life is good. Spread the joy.
THE NEXT PHOTO IS OF THE WI-FI ANTENNA USED FOR THE NEIGHBORNODE SYSTEM HERE.
IT IS ON A 15 FOOT MAST AND IS FED WITH LMR-600 TO REDUCE TRANSMISSION LINE LOSS.
The first picture shows how I installed the Neighbornode - MODE B access point
in my garage at the base of the 15 foot mast. You can blow it up to see the connections better.
As you can see, the black pigtail
leaves the access point on the upper left of the access point and routes to the input of the power amplifier
on the left side. The output of the power amplifier, (right side), uses a white pigtale that routes
to the fat LMR400 cable via a static discharge device in the left side.
You can also see the white wire that is affixed to the bottom of the static discharge
device which routes off to the left. Unseen in that view, is where the wire connects to a cold water pipe; but it does.
Both the pigtails, (black & white) and the static discharge device are supplied
with the HAWKING equipment. Everything is complete. The LAN cable routes to port 1
of the WRT54G at the other end of the lab, aproximately 75 feet.
A 100 foot Category 5 cable from Radio Shack worked perfectly.
The access point is installed just inside the garage wall to protect it from the weather.
I could have obeyed my own advice and place the access point in a waterproof box and mount it
just below the pole mounted antenna, feeding the antenna with a short pigtail),
thus avoiding the loss of 15 feet of cable. I didn't.
OK I confess. Do what I say, not what I do. It will work the best.
But not that much better, however. 15 feet of LMR600 cable will reduce
your output power by approximately 1/6. Your Receive sensitivity is marginally affected by the same.
Only those stations far, in the distance, at the edge of your coverage area
will notice any reduction in thruput.
Do not buy the 30 foot cable supplied by HAWKING or anyone. The loss will be too great.
If you must use a longer antenna feed cable other than a 19 inch pigtail,
use the 15 foot cable offered by HAWKING, no longer.
Notice the IP stickers I placed on the outside of the access point by using my handy label maker.
I don't know what I would do without that wonderful machine. It has saved my neck by jogging
my memory far too often to mention, without great embarrassment.
The sticker on the left, (192.168.1.240) is the default IP of the access point
which is used to program the operating parameters via the web access to the access point.
The sticker on the right, (192.168.2.101) is the IP provided automatically by the WRT54G to the
access point and is the IP I use to connect to the access point
should I want to adjust any of it's operating parameters.
If you try to use the default IP, you will never connect. That is why I put the blue arrow pointing to
the IP I am supposed to use while that device is connected to the Neighbornode WRT54G.
This helps to keep me on track and reduce the confusion.
Should you later decide to use the access point as part of your house or office network; you would have
to use the original IP, (192.168.1.240). WHEW! Did I really say all that? How about misspelled words?
How many?
I hope I did not put you to sleep.
You still awake? OH well, the Third picture shows how I have configured the NEIGHBORNODE base station.
If you look carefully, you will notice the port 8 lamp on the switch is illuminated. That port
that is connected to the WRT54G' WAN port. Ports 1 of the WRT54G is connected to the NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B
long range access point which is shown in the above pictures. Port #2 of the switch goes to an old laptop computer I use
to chat with my MIRC buddies etc. IT also used for ocassional adjustments of the WRT54G. For instance
this morning I realised that no one was connecting to my NEIGHBORNODE through the main unit so,
I have lowered the output power of the WRT54G to below factory defaults.
I only use it in the lab here and it is located less than 10 feet from the computer used. All the other
communication through my NEIGORNODE, (by my neighbors) is done through the high power
NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B access point. I have replaced the stock antennas with 7 dbi gain antennas from Linksys.
That one addition did a lot to increase my range from the base unit.
At the reduced power settings now used, the higher gain antennas fill out my lab just about right.
Let me make myself clear. I have reduced the power level of my main unit only because I have
a high power access point mounted on my roof connected to port 1 of the main unit to handle all of
the Neighbors connection requirments. If I did not have the access point,(NEIGHBORNODE MODE - B),
I would be obliged to increase the power of my main unit and position it for optimum coverage. As it is now
it works just fine in the lab in the corner, on top of the speakers of my stereo unit.:)
QUESTION:
How do you solar power the repeater?
ANSWER:
Gather the equipment listed and connect them together as discussed here.
Connect the batteries in series using the blade fuse holder between the batteries.
You will notice the batteries have their terminals towards one side of the top of the battery.
I positioned the batteries so their terminals are as close to each other as possible. Even then,
They will still be about 1 inch apart. Tape the batteries together using 2" wide Mylar tape.
Use a lot of it. I tape it horizontally as around the center top to bottom. The batteries should
have their plus and minus poles close together on each end. On one of the ends of the two batteries,
solder the fuse holder, one to a Plus terminal the other end of the fuse holder to the
minus terminal adjacent to it. When you put a fuse into the holder you
will then have a 12 volt battery rather than two 6 volt bateries.
The battery will self disconnect if the current exceeds 3 amps. The total
current should never exceed 2 amps even under full solar charge.
The extra 2 amps is a fudge factor. Should anything go wrong, the
fuse will blow immediately. Do not use a higher value fuse!
Connect output of the solar panel charge controller to the other unused
contacts at the other end of the battery. Next connect the solar panel
to the charge controller.
NOTE: The IPC Charge controller has the word BATTERY on top of the controller next to
a RED & Black wire pair. Those wires go to the battery.
The other end of the controller does not have a label.
It is those wires you connect the solar panel to.
The red wire of the solar panel goes to the RED + or POSITIVE input
wire of the IPC charge Controller. The black wire of the solar panel
connects to the BLACK – or NEGATIVE wire of the controller.
older and tape the connection well.
The RED wire of the IPC controller (LABELED BATTERY), goes to the + or POSITIVE terminal
of the battery. The Black wire of the IPC controller connects to
the – NEGATIVE terminal of the battery. Before you solder the connections;
Connect the wire with the white stripe of the Radio Shack power
cord to the + POSITIVE battery terminal where the RED wire of the
Charge controller was connected. Connect the plain black wire of
the power cord to the – NEGATIVE battery terminal where the Black
wire of the IPC charge controller was connected. Verify both wires
are securely soldered to each terminal of the battery. RED wire & BLACK wire with
white stripe to battery + POSITIVE and Black wire from IPC controller &
plain black wire from power cord to the – NEGATIVE terminal of battery.
Solder carefully. Put tape over the soldered connections. All is ready.
Plug in the 5 amp blade fuse into the fuse holder and
place the solar panel in the sun. As the battery is charging the yellow
LED will glow. Good Lord! Is he going to talk all day?
The Yellow and green LED’s will cycle on and off frequently
as the charge controller is working normally. When the battery is
charging the yellow LED will stay illuminated. When the battery is fully
charged the LED’s will cycle. Once the LED’s on the IPC Charge Controller
start to cycle the battery set is ready to connect to the HAWKING repeater.
I use a HAWKING repeater because it runs on a 12 volt DC wall wart so it
will work perfectly with this 12 volt solar system. See the drawing next.
Plug in the power plug into the power jack on the HAWKING.
Verify the blinking WAN lamp after a few moments. It's working!
Get one of these to protect your battery.
This is the battery I use for the solar power repeater system. Notice the placement
of the fuse holder on the right. For this configuration I use 2 X 12 amp,
6 volt, gel cell storage batteries, taped together to make one large storage battery.
I also use a cigar plug recepticle on the battery for easy connection
to a "Y" connector that I can use to connect the output of the charge controller,
(from the solar generation system) & the power plug to the HAWKING repeater. Every thing
plugs together quickly.
Place the batteries in the bottom of the bucket with the charge controller
next to them. Cut out a piece of box cardboard in a circle which will
just fit just inside of the bucket on top of the batteries and lay it
on top of the batteries. You can place the HAWKING repeater on top of
the cardboard with the antenna connected to it, inside the bucket.
Run the wires from the solar panel out and over the edge of the lip of
the bucket to the solar panel. Put the whole thing on your roof.
(I put mine on top of my swamp cooler). Lay the solar panel next to
the bucket and orient it so it faces a southerly direction.
Verify the WAN light on the repeater is flashing indicating all is
working properly. Fit the lid on top of the bucket tightly.
Put a plastic bag over the bucket and another bag over the first bag.
Fold the opening of the bags under the bucket so the bucket sits on
them and holds the bag closed. GEE WHIZ; He is going to talk forever!
I put a brick on top of my repeater’s
lid to keep the whole thing in place if the wind should blow too hard.
Give your repeater a couple pats on the lid and go down stairs.
You’re done except to occasionally verify the LED’s are cycling by 2PM.
On new batteries, the LED’s will cycle slowly.
On older batteries the LED’s will cycle more frequently.
The Batteries will keep the repeater alive for 5 days if it gets cloudy.
If it stays cloudy for 4 days it may take two days of full sun for the
batteries to fully recover. When the LED’s cycle you’re ok.
If not, you may have to add another solar panel to get more charging
current so the LED’s do cycle. In Southern California, one panel
is all that is required. Northern climates may require two. That’s
why we use the 10 amp hour batteries; to keep the repeater alive and
functioning during cloudy days. The charge controller is used to keep
the battery from overcharging and shorting its life.
The charge controller is a must so don’t scrimp. Also, do not use
lead acid storage batteries like those used in automobiles or motorcycles.
The acid fumes will destroy the electronics & deep discharge cycles will
destroy the lead-acid battery. Always use a Gel-cell or Nickel Metal Hydride battery.
EQUIPMENT LIST:
1 X 5 gallon plastic bucket/lid. (Home Depot), [$1]
2 X 6 volt 12 AMP gel-cell batteries. (Radio Shack) [$25] ea.
1 X ACCESS POINT/BRIDGE. [Use the HAWKING device] ($65)
1 X 7amp Charge controller (ipcglobal.com) (Auto Zone) [$20]
1 X Power cord with plug to fit HAWKING device, (Radio Shack) [$4]
1 X blade fuse holder with wires attached, (Auto Zone) [$1.50]
1 X box 5 AMP blade fuses,(aprox 10), (Auto Zone) [$1.25]
1 X 25 watt 17.5 (unloaded) volt solar panel, (Auto Zone) [$45]
1 X 25’ spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, RED,(Auto Zone) [$10]
1 X 25' spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, BLACK(AutoZone) [$10]
You will also need a soldering iron or gun, some solder,
electrical tape, Two large plastic bags, and some tools to
work the wire.
QUESTON:
What if I want to SOLAR POWER two ACCESS POINTS used in BRIDGE mode as suggested earlier?
ANSWER:
You will have to triple up on the solar panels and make two 12 volt Gel-cell wired up
in parallel to provide a larger storage battery. Remember, you are powering two ACCESS POINTS
and two HSB1 power amps, one for each bridge. The cost triples.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO READ
MY ALL PURPOSE DISCLAIMER & WARNING:
READ & HEAD THIS [not-so-fine] FINE PRINT:
Build this or any project I suggest at your own risk.
I am not responsible for any damage you cause or as a
result of the operation of or the possible miss
operation of this equipment.
I am not responsible for anything you do
regarding any thing I have told you do. ZIP. NADA. NOTHING!
Don't come crying to me if you burn you house down. Be careful with
storage batteries, or any kind of batteries.
You could be burned. You could burn your house down!
You could hurt yourself, or others.
Always use a proper fuse in your electrical circuits!
If there is the slightest doubt in your mind about your
ability to connect and use this equipment properly and safely;
DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Don't wire the battery backwards!
You could burn out your HAWKING repeater or worse.
I'm not a legal whiz so, do not take the lack of
anything I indicate here as a green light to take me to court over a technicality
or a misspell. When I say I'm not responsible for anything regarding
what you read here on this web site or what you do as a result of
what you read here on this web site or what is suggested you do by reading the
information on this web site or any other suggestion or inNuendo;
I mean it!
ALSO: I should point out now that I don't claim that the above design is fit for
any purpose, and don't accept any liability for use of the design,
or any antenna based on this design. If you want to build a range booster
using this design, then you are responsible for ensuring that it doesn't
breach any laws where you are, and is compatible with any hardware you connect
it to. If in doubt, don't build this thing. If you don't agree completely with
What I said here. Don't build this thing.
CAPICE?........ If you don't CAPICE,
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you don't agree in total to what is said or
what is implied in this disclaimer, whether INDICATED or not;
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you are a SPAZ, MORON, IDIOT, INCOMPETANT, JERK, KLUTZ, ANY REASON AT ALL or
your butter just slipped off your bisket:
WAIT A MINUTE! I'm a SPAZ. OK,,, forget the SPAZ thing. -- Continue.
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
Above all else,
DON'T BE A PUTZ !
Use common sense and don't bug me about legal issues.
Also, don't bug me about the verbIage.
END
Modified 11/01/2005
RETURN
NOTE: BEFORE WE BEGIN. Some of the information presented here has been duplicated. In some cases it was done to amplify a concept discussed here. The articles were parts of e-mail sent to various people and compiled here. ALSO, Here is a handy link to definitions that may help your understanding: http://www.jiwire.com/glossary.htm?index=1
ARTICLE 1
I have had enthusiastic and gratifying reports from many of my clients,(Neighbornode users). As I expand the capabilities of my particular Neighbornode to include the adjacent streets; more members check in weekly. The current range of my particular Neighbornode is a little less than 3000 feet from my outside antenna and includes the high school 1 block away. Many of the students check in during lunch with their laptops from their cars in the parking lot. I am not interested in increasing the range much past the existing 3000 foot radius as I want to provide the best data rate possible to the existing clients. IN fact, in the future I may have to scale it back for that exact reason. It all depends on the number of clients that want to use my particular Neighbornode. As more Neighbornodes come on line in my area, I will cut back accordingly. Neighbornode works best if it covers your neighborhood well. The range project here at the lab is an experiment, all be it, a long running one. Currently, My DSL connection is running at about 3 Megabits/second. Presently that is enough to provide all users adequate thru-put. In my opinion the EL-SPAZMO Friendly Service Neighbornode is a spectacular success in my neighborhood. If any of the other Neighbornode stations wants to know how to expand the capabilities of their particular Neighbornode access point to get more than the 300 foot range, or just more reliable connections out to 1000 feet; have them drop me a line at my E-MAIL here. That E-MAIL address is libawitz@hotmail.com I'll be glad to tell them how I did it and how much it will cost. The really cool thing about it all is that it is perfectly legal and uses off the shelf, plug N play, hardware. Keep up the good work. The Neighbornode software works perfectly. It was well thought out.
Here is a range increasing hint. Mounting the WRT54G unit higher and free of blocking obstructions is the key to long range. The higher the better. Avoid the proximity of green foliage between you and the receiving site. Trees or other growing things act like a screen to microwaves and will stop them cold. void locating the device or antenna close to metal objects. The 80 milliwatt power of a WRT54G with the addition of a 7.5 DB antenna pair also sold by Linksys is more than adequate to go well over 2000 feet (if the unit were placed on top of a tall building on the roof, outside, under a plastic bucket and no obstructions in the way), between the unit and your laptop computer. The range would be astounding. Most people can't do that however. That is why ancillary equipment must be added to boost the performance to acceptable range and thruput. This requires a power booster for the base station and the incorporation of a high gain antenna mounted in the clear remotely.
ARTICLE 2
I have experimented with both types of systems depicted here at my lab. These are some of the results of my investigations. Inquiries may be directed to libawitz@hotmail.com or now on my Neighbornode's bulletin board: ELSPAZMO's FRIENDLY SERVICE NEIGHBORNODE This shouldn't take too long. It's really quite simple, really. We begin with the WRT54G which is set up in Neighbornode mode. I immediately replaced the small 3-DBI antennas that came with the WRT54G with a Linksys 7.5 DBI gain antenna pair and set the output of the WRT54G to 50 miliwatts, not the maximum power, (80 milliwatts). A word of caution about setting the unit to full power, (80 milliwatts). Even though the unit is designed to provide reliable operation at the maximum, (80 milliwatt) power; At full transmit power the WRT54G will tend to overheat. Heat is the long term enemy of electronic equipment. As a general rule of thumb, it is best to place the unit in as cool a location as possible. Keep it out of the sun. Allow air to freely circulate around the unit. Use a small fan if necessary. A small muffin fan is obtainable at Radio Shack. They sell a small 3" fan that can be placed off to one side of the WRT54G. Let it blow across the unit. The air will go across the top and bottom, keeping the unit at ambient temperature. To preclude possible crashes and damage to the WRT54G keep the power to 50 milliwatts if you don't use a cooling fan. That accomplished, we continue: The 4 hardwired ports on that unit are subject to the same login requirements the wireless clients are, as directed by the timer value which is defaulted to 24 hours on the WRT54G Neighbornode software. That means every computer connected to the unit's hardwired port must login at least once every 24 hours just like the wireless computer systems. This comes in very handy when a REPEATER or WIRELESS ACCESS PORT is used in conjunction with the WRT54G; as I will explain shortly. The timer function may be changed to once every 4 hours if desired and I recommend it. This keeps malingers from hanging on for ever, (if you know what I mean). Any way, there are two ways to increase the wireless range. Assuming first you did the absolutely cheapest way to increase your range; which means you having the WRT54G mounted in as high and clear as location as possible in your home. That may mean putting the unit on the upper floor next to a window or mounted on the roof in a rain proof plastic bucket or other water proof plastic enclosure. Do what you need to locate the WRT54G as high and in the clear as possible. That is the main thing to do. It's free, and you may not have to add the high gain LINKSYS antennas mounted on the back of your unit. If you can't do that then consider one of the two following methods to greatly increase the range of your Neighbornode. The method you use will determine the overall cost. I may as tell you now I opted for Method Two below but your situation may be different.
METHOD ONE
The easiest, is to set up is a repeater.
I use a HAWKING HWUR54G, (available at: http://www.compusa.com ).
In repeater mode, the SSID of the WRT54G must be entered as the main ID.
In that case is 'Neighbornode' as per the set up instructions
provided with your setup software from Neighbornode. The repeater's output SSID must be something different.
I use: 'Neighbornode - REPEATER' as the Repeater's SSID. When you do a search of
available networks on your portable computer in my neighborhood you would see both SSID's: Neighbornode &
Neighbornode - REPEATER; unless you're out of range of the original WRT54G.
Then you will only see the REPEATER. Mounting the repeater up high as possible
is most important. It must be in range of the main unit, (WRT54G) and yet far
away enough to effectively increase the range in the direction you want to extend
the coverage. A single Linksys 7 DBI gain antenna may be added to the repeater for
more gain. It is very easy to set up and only requires the repeater to be set to the
same channel as the Linksys WRT54G. I set both units to channel 2.
Linksys sets their channel to 6 as the default.
There are so many units on that channel they cause interference and
packet collisions with each other. That will diminish the range and performance
of your system. That why I choose channel 2 in my neighborhood. Your's may be different.
The one down side is that repeater is transmitting all
the time,( the WAN lamp is winking continuously on the repeater). All that means is
that the repeater itself causes a little interference and really uses
the channel. That is the reason why you should find an channel that
is relatively unused in your area. If an additional repeater is desired to further
increase the range of your system then that repeater must be placed in the
opposite direction that the first repeater is located and out of range of
the first repeater UNLESS on the second repeater the SSID of the first
repeater is used as the original SSID number, (in this case the original
SSID of the first repeater is: Neighbornode - REPEATER and the second
repeater's SSID must be something like: Neighbornode - REPEATER - MODE B and so on.
Why do that? Your house may be situated next to a hill or a tall building,
(with no potential clients),and you want to greatly
extend the range of your Neighbornode in one direction but not the other. A string of
repeaters may be used in one direction to increase effectivity while ignoring the empty
side of the hill or building behind you. Additionally, high gain directional antennas with a cardioid pattern
may be aimed in the direction desired as well. There are a lot of choices and configurations possible.
If multiple stringed repeaters are used,
you are then repeating the repeater, so to speak.
All repeaters must be on the same channel as the WRT54G. One further thing;
after programming, none of them have to be connected via hard wire to the WRT54G.
All they need is power and that is what makes it easy to deploy.
The REPEATER could be placed on the roof of your home or apartment
building in a plastic bucket and run off a battery that is solar charged
for completely wireless and autonomous operation. The small solar panel
can be attached to the top of the bucket and the unit placed at any convent
location within range of your WRT54G and yet high enough to provide long
range connection. Hawking also makes a 500 milliwatt power amplifier to
daisy chain in the antenna circuit to increase your transmitter power and
receive sensitivity considerably. The part number for the power gain unit
is the HSB1. Yes, you can use a mast mounted hi-gain (9-DBI omni-directional),
together with the power amp to make a powerful repeater. A 15 dbi antenna
may be used to increase the coverage even further. More about that later.
Be aware of the possible channel congestion problems requiring relocation
of the repeater further away from the WRT54G main unit. With the repeater
so close by, sometimes getting into your main Neighbornode unit may be
difficult. Getting into the main Neighbornode base unit,(WRT54G) may actually be blocked by the
REPEATER, especially if the 1/2 watt amplifier is used.
So, The use of the REPEATER mode is sometimes problematic. It is best to
mount the repeater as far away from your Neighbornode main unit as possible
and yet still be in range to communicate. When I used the high power
additional equipment with my repeater IE power amp and pole mounted hi-gain antenna;
I had to mount the WRT54G in the far corner of the lab and separate
the repeater some 500 feet from the WRT54G to prevent difficulties in
logging into the WRT54G directly rather than through the repeater.
It will not make any difference to you which unit you connect with as
the end results will be the same. When using a pole mounted gain antenna
that is free and clear, both the repeater and access point ranges will
be about 3000-7000 feet. This implies you are using a conventional
Linksys wireless card plugged into the side of your computer and you are
line of sight to the base station antenna. If a 14 DBI corner reflector
antenna is connected to a PCI card in your laptop, you could be 3+ miles
away from the access point antenna and still connect, that is, if you can
see the base antenna and aim your corner reflected antenna carefully.
Trying to push a microwave signal through walls greatly limits the effective
range of everything. Keep that in mind always. Put as few obstacles between
you, your clients and your Neighbornode main unit, repeater, or access point
as possible. In this case, less is more. One more thing:
If you decide to use a pole mounted antenna on the roof it will be advisable to
mount the repeater or access point and amplifier in a waterproof box (NEMA 400 type)
and connect to the high antenna with a very short,(less than 3 feet) pigtail or LMR400
cable to minimize cable loss. Using a long cable can be quite lossy at 2.4 GHZ.
Put the whole she-bang in the waterproof box and mount it just below the high gain antenna.
All that is required is to run power and the category 5 cable,
(In the case you decide to make it an access point you need the addition of a cat5 cable that
is connected to one of the available 4 ports of the WRT54G, but not when used as a repeater.
Yeah, I'll explain the use of the cat5 cable later too.)
Using the access point method depicted next in
Method Two will provide better service.
METHOD TWO
Uses an access point connected to port one of the WRT54G.
I have set the SSID of the access point to be: Neighbornode - MODE B.
You can use anything you want but include the word:
Neighbornode as part of your SSID. I use the HAWKING HWBA54G wireless
access point and bridge I also use the HSB1 power amplifier. Also in that
configuration is the use of a high gain 9 DBI gain roof mounted omni-directional
antenna fed with LMR-400 cable that is 15 feet long. I use
the HWBA54G it in access point mode. The access point needs to be
connected to the WRT54G' port connection via a cat5 LAN cable. I
connect it to port 1 but you can connect it to any one of the 4 ports you like.
So, I mount the high gain antenna on the roof on top of a pole,
mounted to the outside of the house just outside the side entrance to my LAB.
I run the cable down the pole and into an access port just above the door.
It is a very short cable. The shorter the better.
Just inside the door I connect the other end of the cable to the
output of the HSB1, which is connected via a pigtail to the HWBA54G.
Both units are powered by a wall wart transformer.
A 75' cat 5 cable runs from the access point to the port 1 of the WRT54G
located else where in the lab.
With a category 5 cable, you can separate the access point almost 300
feet away from the WRT54G. Actually, that is true no matter what device you use.
Once set up, the access point reliably
allows wireless connections from computers very far away,
(several thousand feet), without the use of repeaters. I also put the
access point on a different channel than my WRT54G to further minimize
interference. You can't do that with a REPEATER if you recall.
So, Lets review: A repeater is simple to implement. No hardwire
connection is required between the repeater and WRT54G.
It's downside is greater channel congestion with sometimes packet
collisions requiring the re-sending of data. That slows things down a bit.
Limited connectivity. Only a handful of stations can connect
simultaneously on a repeater.
An access point however, provides greater thru-put, further range,
less channel congestion, more reliable connections with more power
& sensitivity. A category 5 cable is required for constant connection
with the WRT54G; and the overall expense is greater but the system
performance is much better. I Use this method because I wish to further
experiment with range increasing techniques & because I had one
laying around in the LAB..
As I said, using HAWKING access points in repeater mode is the easiest
way to greatly extend your Neighbornode’s coverage area.
I also indicated that method was sometimes problematic.
Still another solution to the range question is to use two
access points back to back in BRIDGE mode.
In this case the WAN ports of each access point are connected
together with a short Category 5 cable. Different antennas may be connected
to each of the access points, depending on your situation. The coverage area will begin
anew from that point. The Neighbornode SSID may be used with
all units and they will reliably relay connections from the
local computer to your master Neighbornode WRT54G box.
This is especially useful in very long extensions.
Corner reflector antennas or Yagis may be used to ‘beam’
your signal to remote regions or to another bridge system.
A couple Ham friend of mine used that method, along with ½ watt
amplifiers from Hawking and 4 foot dish antennas to relay their
signal 350 miles up the SanJauquin Valley out here in California.
It took two bridge systems in between base stations to complete the hookup.
They also had to adjust the software so the timeout function was increased so the
units would not start to resend the data because they did not get a timely response
from the remote unit. Even traveling at the speed of light, distances over 18 miles have to
be adjusted to compensate for the propagation delays.
It can really get wild!
I have the other three ports on my WRT54G to play with.
I may add another access point to port Two and connect it to
a dish antenna (42 inches) and aim it at my ranch in the mountains
18 miles away, as the crow flies. I will be able to connect using
the camera tripod mounted 14 DBI corner reflector aimed back at the
dish. Neet huh?. Yeah, I have a Sprint wireless card for my computer
but who wants to pay for all that when I can connect to my own network
& the internet, for free, at home, from my ranch home? It will require
the use of the 500 milliwatt amplifiers on each end however.
Using that setup, the possible range is over 80 miles.
I would have to do some adjustment delays to the timeout before
repeating of packets to prevent repeats and collisions.
If you are into experimentation clearly the access point route is
the way to go.
There you have it except for the omni directional antennas I used.
There are several vendors who supply antennas.
I like using the HAWKING equipment because they sell everything,
including the cable, that is needed for your installation; all of it
available at the CompUSA web site. There are other vendors who offer
a 16 DBI antenna that is omni-directional but cost much more than the
9-DBI omnidirectional antenna provided by HAWKING. Be advised,
HAWKING predicates their performance with the use of their 10 foot
cable and some of the other suppliers don't. That really means the gain of
the HAWKING antenna is better than some of the other published antennas who
don't take into consideration feed line length in their gain
calculations and subsequent gain publication. Their gain figures may
indicate higher antenna gain but their performance may be considerably
less. Use HAWKING equipment for the best results. There are notable exceptions
however. WIFI-Link is one of those 'good' guys that publish honest specs.
If you are interested go here:
http://www.wifi-link.com/product.php?action=product&class1_id=1&class2_id=50&class3_id=164&product_id=19
It probably best to copy and paste the url into your browser's URL line, heh heh.
No, I do not own stock in HAWKING or WIFI-LINK. All of the hardware mentioned here
is perfectly legal to use and is available off the shelf at your local
computer supply store or via the network at one of the online computer
equipment supply houses. I use COMPUSA because their prices are reasonable,
they are pleasant to do business with and they ship overnight. Have fun.
Oh yeah, before I forget. If you really want to vastly increase your range far past
what we have discussed here; then get yourself an amateur radio license.
Under FCC part 97, vastly increased power levels are allowed.
Very high gain antennas are also allowed under Part 97.
This increased power level with the resulting increased
energy density will provide greater signal to noise ratios allowing greater transmission
speeds over longer distances. Several manufacturers will provide higher power amplifiers to
any amateur radio operator who provides a copy of their license.
Now we are talking power levels of 10, 20 watts, or more!. Really cool! Think about it.
Check out: http://www.arrl.org.
Modified 10/27/2005
FAQ
Question:
HOW CAN I PROVIDE A NEIGHBORNODE SERVICE WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING THE SECURITY OF MY HOME OR OFFICE SYSTEM?
Answer:
I am going to assume you already have an existing home network or one that needs to be protected.
I also am going to assume the home network is made by Linksys, but it doesn’t have to be.
Most are but this technique will work with any system. As you know the default IP of the
Linksys router & switch is 192.168.1.1. This is the same no matter how many ports
your router/switch has.
Hook your WRT54G to an available port on the main switch.
Change the IP of the WRT54G from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1.
When you do that the systems will be totally separate from each other.
People connected to the WRT54G will not be able to see the computers connected
to the main router and visa versa. This is a technique used by technicians to
separate sales, lab, etc from payroll for instance. Yet they all will have access
to the INTERNET. Now, the main point to remember is if you are using like equipment
like Linksys, the IP’s of the routers have to be different if you want to keep them separate.
If you want to share the whole home network with the world then the IP of the second
router (WRT54G) would be set to 192.168.1.2. That is why it is good to change the WRT54G’s IP.
There is one more thing to remember. Computers connected to other available 4 ports of the WRT54G
can talk to each other and can see each other’s files if file sharing is enabled on those
computers. It is best to hook only access points to the available ports of the WRT54G;
and that only if you want to expand the capability of your Neighbornode system.
Question:
WILL USERS ON THE NEIGHBORNODE SLOW DOWN MY INTERNET BROWSING?
Answer:
Yes, a little but it is barely noticeable. Really!
If you are concerned you can slow down the data thruput of the
WRT54G by setting the connect speed to 1 or 2 instead of 56 KB
or somewhere in between.
Your Linksys will automatically slow down the thruput in marginal
conditions. You can permanently slow down the ‘public’ connection
leaving more for you. The impact of an occasional user or several
simultaneous users is minor.
Anyway, providing a little internet access & bulletin board to your
friends is why you are doing this in the first place. Isn’t it?
Don’t worry about it. Life is good. Spread the joy.
THE NEXT PHOTO IS OF THE WI-FI ANTENNA USED FOR THE NEIGHBORNODE SYSTEM HERE.
IT IS ON A 15 FOOT MAST AND IS FED WITH LMR-600 TO REDUCE TRANSMISSION LINE LOSS.
The first picture shows how I installed the Neighbornode - MODE B access point
in my garage at the base of the 15 foot mast. You can blow it up to see the connections better.
As you can see, the black pigtail
leaves the access point on the upper left of the access point and routes to the input of the power amplifier
on the left side. The output of the power amplifier, (right side), uses a white pigtale that routes
to the fat LMR400 cable via a static discharge device in the left side.
You can also see the white wire that is affixed to the bottom of the static discharge
device which routes off to the left. Unseen in that view, is where the wire connects to a cold water pipe; but it does.
Both the pigtails, (black & white) and the static discharge device are supplied
with the HAWKING equipment. Everything is complete. The LAN cable routes to port 1
of the WRT54G at the other end of the lab, aproximately 75 feet.
A 100 foot Category 5 cable from Radio Shack worked perfectly.
The access point is installed just inside the garage wall to protect it from the weather.
I could have obeyed my own advice and place the access point in a waterproof box and mount it
just below the pole mounted antenna, feeding the antenna with a short pigtail),
thus avoiding the loss of 15 feet of cable. I didn't.
OK I confess. Do what I say, not what I do. It will work the best.
But not that much better, however. 15 feet of LMR600 cable will reduce
your output power by approximately 1/6. Your Receive sensitivity is marginally affected by the same.
Only those stations far, in the distance, at the edge of your coverage area
will notice any reduction in thruput.
Do not buy the 30 foot cable supplied by HAWKING or anyone. The loss will be too great.
If you must use a longer antenna feed cable other than a 19 inch pigtail,
use the 15 foot cable offered by HAWKING, no longer.
Notice the IP stickers I placed on the outside of the access point by using my handy label maker.
I don't know what I would do without that wonderful machine. It has saved my neck by jogging
my memory far too often to mention, without great embarrassment.
The sticker on the left, (192.168.1.240) is the default IP of the access point
which is used to program the operating parameters via the web access to the access point.
The sticker on the right, (192.168.2.101) is the IP provided automatically by the WRT54G to the
access point and is the IP I use to connect to the access point
should I want to adjust any of it's operating parameters.
If you try to use the default IP, you will never connect. That is why I put the blue arrow pointing to
the IP I am supposed to use while that device is connected to the Neighbornode WRT54G.
This helps to keep me on track and reduce the confusion.
Should you later decide to use the access point as part of your house or office network; you would have
to use the original IP, (192.168.1.240). WHEW! Did I really say all that? How about misspelled words?
How many?
I hope I did not put you to sleep.
You still awake? OH well, the Third picture shows how I have configured the NEIGHBORNODE base station.
If you look carefully, you will notice the port 8 lamp on the switch is illuminated. That port
that is connected to the WRT54G' WAN port. Ports 1 of the WRT54G is connected to the NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B
long range access point which is shown in the above pictures. Port #2 of the switch goes to an old laptop computer I use
to chat with my MIRC buddies etc. IT also used for ocassional adjustments of the WRT54G. For instance
this morning I realised that no one was connecting to my NEIGHBORNODE through the main unit so,
I have lowered the output power of the WRT54G to below factory defaults.
I only use it in the lab here and it is located less than 10 feet from the computer used. All the other
communication through my NEIGORNODE, (by my neighbors) is done through the high power
NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B access point. I have replaced the stock antennas with 7 dbi gain antennas from Linksys.
That one addition did a lot to increase my range from the base unit.
At the reduced power settings now used, the higher gain antennas fill out my lab just about right.
Let me make myself clear. I have reduced the power level of my main unit only because I have
a high power access point mounted on my roof connected to port 1 of the main unit to handle all of
the Neighbors connection requirments. If I did not have the access point,(NEIGHBORNODE MODE - B),
I would be obliged to increase the power of my main unit and position it for optimum coverage. As it is now
it works just fine in the lab in the corner, on top of the speakers of my stereo unit.:)
QUESTION:
How do you solar power the repeater?
ANSWER:
Gather the equipment listed and connect them together as discussed here.
Connect the batteries in series using the blade fuse holder between the batteries.
You will notice the batteries have their terminals towards one side of the top of the battery.
I positioned the batteries so their terminals are as close to each other as possible. Even then,
They will still be about 1 inch apart. Tape the batteries together using 2" wide Mylar tape.
Use a lot of it. I tape it horizontally as around the center top to bottom. The batteries should
have their plus and minus poles close together on each end. On one of the ends of the two batteries,
solder the fuse holder, one to a Plus terminal the other end of the fuse holder to the
minus terminal adjacent to it. When you put a fuse into the holder you
will then have a 12 volt battery rather than two 6 volt bateries.
The battery will self disconnect if the current exceeds 3 amps. The total
current should never exceed 2 amps even under full solar charge.
The extra 2 amps is a fudge factor. Should anything go wrong, the
fuse will blow immediately. Do not use a higher value fuse!
Connect output of the solar panel charge controller to the other unused
contacts at the other end of the battery. Next connect the solar panel
to the charge controller.
NOTE: The IPC Charge controller has the word BATTERY on top of the controller next to
a RED & Black wire pair. Those wires go to the battery.
The other end of the controller does not have a label.
It is those wires you connect the solar panel to.
The red wire of the solar panel goes to the RED + or POSITIVE input
wire of the IPC charge Controller. The black wire of the solar panel
connects to the BLACK – or NEGATIVE wire of the controller.
older and tape the connection well.
The RED wire of the IPC controller (LABELED BATTERY), goes to the + or POSITIVE terminal
of the battery. The Black wire of the IPC controller connects to
the – NEGATIVE terminal of the battery. Before you solder the connections;
Connect the wire with the white stripe of the Radio Shack power
cord to the + POSITIVE battery terminal where the RED wire of the
Charge controller was connected. Connect the plain black wire of
the power cord to the – NEGATIVE battery terminal where the Black
wire of the IPC charge controller was connected. Verify both wires
are securely soldered to each terminal of the battery. RED wire & BLACK wire with
white stripe to battery + POSITIVE and Black wire from IPC controller &
plain black wire from power cord to the – NEGATIVE terminal of battery.
Solder carefully. Put tape over the soldered connections. All is ready.
Plug in the 5 amp blade fuse into the fuse holder and
place the solar panel in the sun. As the battery is charging the yellow
LED will glow. Good Lord! Is he going to talk all day?
The Yellow and green LED’s will cycle on and off frequently
as the charge controller is working normally. When the battery is
charging the yellow LED will stay illuminated. When the battery is fully
charged the LED’s will cycle. Once the LED’s on the IPC Charge Controller
start to cycle the battery set is ready to connect to the HAWKING repeater.
I use a HAWKING repeater because it runs on a 12 volt DC wall wart so it
will work perfectly with this 12 volt solar system. See the drawing next.
Plug in the power plug into the power jack on the HAWKING.
Verify the blinking WAN lamp after a few moments. It's working!
Get one of these to protect your battery.
This is the battery I use for the solar power repeater system. Notice the placement
of the fuse holder on the right. For this configuration I use 2 X 12 amp,
6 volt, gel cell storage batteries, taped together to make one large storage battery.
I also use a cigar plug recepticle on the battery for easy connection
to a "Y" connector that I can use to connect the output of the charge controller,
(from the solar generation system) & the power plug to the HAWKING repeater. Every thing
plugs together quickly.
Place the batteries in the bottom of the bucket with the charge controller
next to them. Cut out a piece of box cardboard in a circle which will
just fit just inside of the bucket on top of the batteries and lay it
on top of the batteries. You can place the HAWKING repeater on top of
the cardboard with the antenna connected to it, inside the bucket.
Run the wires from the solar panel out and over the edge of the lip of
the bucket to the solar panel. Put the whole thing on your roof.
(I put mine on top of my swamp cooler). Lay the solar panel next to
the bucket and orient it so it faces a southerly direction.
Verify the WAN light on the repeater is flashing indicating all is
working properly. Fit the lid on top of the bucket tightly.
Put a plastic bag over the bucket and another bag over the first bag.
Fold the opening of the bags under the bucket so the bucket sits on
them and holds the bag closed. GEE WHIZ; He is going to talk forever!
I put a brick on top of my repeater’s
lid to keep the whole thing in place if the wind should blow too hard.
Give your repeater a couple pats on the lid and go down stairs.
You’re done except to occasionally verify the LED’s are cycling by 2PM.
On new batteries, the LED’s will cycle slowly.
On older batteries the LED’s will cycle more frequently.
The Batteries will keep the repeater alive for 5 days if it gets cloudy.
If it stays cloudy for 4 days it may take two days of full sun for the
batteries to fully recover. When the LED’s cycle you’re ok.
If not, you may have to add another solar panel to get more charging
current so the LED’s do cycle. In Southern California, one panel
is all that is required. Northern climates may require two. That’s
why we use the 10 amp hour batteries; to keep the repeater alive and
functioning during cloudy days. The charge controller is used to keep
the battery from overcharging and shorting its life.
The charge controller is a must so don’t scrimp. Also, do not use
lead acid storage batteries like those used in automobiles or motorcycles.
The acid fumes will destroy the electronics & deep discharge cycles will
destroy the lead-acid battery. Always use a Gel-cell or Nickel Metal Hydride battery.
EQUIPMENT LIST:
1 X 5 gallon plastic bucket/lid. (Home Depot), [$1]
2 X 6 volt 12 AMP gel-cell batteries. (Radio Shack) [$25] ea.
1 X ACCESS POINT/BRIDGE. [Use the HAWKING device] ($65)
1 X 7amp Charge controller (ipcglobal.com) (Auto Zone) [$20]
1 X Power cord with plug to fit HAWKING device, (Radio Shack) [$4]
1 X blade fuse holder with wires attached, (Auto Zone) [$1.50]
1 X box 5 AMP blade fuses,(aprox 10), (Auto Zone) [$1.25]
1 X 25 watt 17.5 (unloaded) volt solar panel, (Auto Zone) [$45]
1 X 25’ spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, RED,(Auto Zone) [$10]
1 X 25' spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, BLACK(AutoZone) [$10]
You will also need a soldering iron or gun, some solder,
electrical tape, Two large plastic bags, and some tools to
work the wire.
QUESTON:
What if I want to SOLAR POWER two ACCESS POINTS used in BRIDGE mode as suggested earlier?
ANSWER:
You will have to triple up on the solar panels and make two 12 volt Gel-cell wired up
in parallel to provide a larger storage battery. Remember, you are powering two ACCESS POINTS
and two HSB1 power amps, one for each bridge. The cost triples.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO READ
MY ALL PURPOSE DISCLAIMER & WARNING:
READ & HEAD THIS [not-so-fine] FINE PRINT:
Build this or any project I suggest at your own risk.
I am not responsible for any damage you cause or as a
result of the operation of or the possible miss
operation of this equipment.
I am not responsible for anything you do
regarding any thing I have told you do. ZIP. NADA. NOTHING!
Don't come crying to me if you burn you house down. Be careful with
storage batteries, or any kind of batteries.
You could be burned. You could burn your house down!
You could hurt yourself, or others.
Always use a proper fuse in your electrical circuits!
If there is the slightest doubt in your mind about your
ability to connect and use this equipment properly and safely;
DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Don't wire the battery backwards!
You could burn out your HAWKING repeater or worse.
I'm not a legal whiz so, do not take the lack of
anything I indicate here as a green light to take me to court over a technicality
or a misspell. When I say I'm not responsible for anything regarding
what you read here on this web site or what you do as a result of
what you read here on this web site or what is suggested you do by reading the
information on this web site or any other suggestion or inNuendo;
I mean it!
ALSO: I should point out now that I don't claim that the above design is fit for
any purpose, and don't accept any liability for use of the design,
or any antenna based on this design. If you want to build a range booster
using this design, then you are responsible for ensuring that it doesn't
breach any laws where you are, and is compatible with any hardware you connect
it to. If in doubt, don't build this thing. If you don't agree completely with
What I said here. Don't build this thing.
CAPICE?........ If you don't CAPICE,
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you don't agree in total to what is said or
what is implied in this disclaimer, whether INDICATED or not;
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you are a SPAZ, MORON, IDIOT, INCOMPETANT, JERK, KLUTZ, ANY REASON AT ALL or
your butter just slipped off your bisket:
WAIT A MINUTE! I'm a SPAZ. OK,,, forget the SPAZ thing. -- Continue.
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
Above all else,
DON'T BE A PUTZ !
Use common sense and don't bug me about legal issues.
Also, don't bug me about the verbIage.
END
Modified 11/01/2005
RETURN
The easiest, is to set up is a repeater. I use a HAWKING HWUR54G, (available at: http://www.compusa.com ). In repeater mode, the SSID of the WRT54G must be entered as the main ID. In that case is 'Neighbornode' as per the set up instructions provided with your setup software from Neighbornode. The repeater's output SSID must be something different. I use: 'Neighbornode - REPEATER' as the Repeater's SSID. When you do a search of available networks on your portable computer in my neighborhood you would see both SSID's: Neighbornode & Neighbornode - REPEATER; unless you're out of range of the original WRT54G. Then you will only see the REPEATER. Mounting the repeater up high as possible is most important. It must be in range of the main unit, (WRT54G) and yet far away enough to effectively increase the range in the direction you want to extend the coverage. A single Linksys 7 DBI gain antenna may be added to the repeater for more gain. It is very easy to set up and only requires the repeater to be set to the same channel as the Linksys WRT54G. I set both units to channel 2. Linksys sets their channel to 6 as the default. There are so many units on that channel they cause interference and packet collisions with each other. That will diminish the range and performance of your system. That why I choose channel 2 in my neighborhood. Your's may be different. The one down side is that repeater is transmitting all the time,( the WAN lamp is winking continuously on the repeater). All that means is that the repeater itself causes a little interference and really uses the channel. That is the reason why you should find an channel that is relatively unused in your area. If an additional repeater is desired to further increase the range of your system then that repeater must be placed in the opposite direction that the first repeater is located and out of range of the first repeater UNLESS on the second repeater the SSID of the first repeater is used as the original SSID number, (in this case the original SSID of the first repeater is: Neighbornode - REPEATER and the second repeater's SSID must be something like: Neighbornode - REPEATER - MODE B and so on. Why do that? Your house may be situated next to a hill or a tall building, (with no potential clients),and you want to greatly extend the range of your Neighbornode in one direction but not the other. A string of repeaters may be used in one direction to increase effectivity while ignoring the empty side of the hill or building behind you. Additionally, high gain directional antennas with a cardioid pattern may be aimed in the direction desired as well. There are a lot of choices and configurations possible. If multiple stringed repeaters are used, you are then repeating the repeater, so to speak. All repeaters must be on the same channel as the WRT54G. One further thing; after programming, none of them have to be connected via hard wire to the WRT54G. All they need is power and that is what makes it easy to deploy. The REPEATER could be placed on the roof of your home or apartment building in a plastic bucket and run off a battery that is solar charged for completely wireless and autonomous operation. The small solar panel can be attached to the top of the bucket and the unit placed at any convent location within range of your WRT54G and yet high enough to provide long range connection. Hawking also makes a 500 milliwatt power amplifier to daisy chain in the antenna circuit to increase your transmitter power and receive sensitivity considerably. The part number for the power gain unit is the HSB1. Yes, you can use a mast mounted hi-gain (9-DBI omni-directional), together with the power amp to make a powerful repeater. A 15 dbi antenna may be used to increase the coverage even further. More about that later. Be aware of the possible channel congestion problems requiring relocation of the repeater further away from the WRT54G main unit. With the repeater so close by, sometimes getting into your main Neighbornode unit may be difficult. Getting into the main Neighbornode base unit,(WRT54G) may actually be blocked by the REPEATER, especially if the 1/2 watt amplifier is used. So, The use of the REPEATER mode is sometimes problematic. It is best to mount the repeater as far away from your Neighbornode main unit as possible and yet still be in range to communicate. When I used the high power additional equipment with my repeater IE power amp and pole mounted hi-gain antenna; I had to mount the WRT54G in the far corner of the lab and separate the repeater some 500 feet from the WRT54G to prevent difficulties in logging into the WRT54G directly rather than through the repeater. It will not make any difference to you which unit you connect with as the end results will be the same. When using a pole mounted gain antenna that is free and clear, both the repeater and access point ranges will be about 3000-7000 feet. This implies you are using a conventional Linksys wireless card plugged into the side of your computer and you are line of sight to the base station antenna. If a 14 DBI corner reflector antenna is connected to a PCI card in your laptop, you could be 3+ miles away from the access point antenna and still connect, that is, if you can see the base antenna and aim your corner reflected antenna carefully. Trying to push a microwave signal through walls greatly limits the effective range of everything. Keep that in mind always. Put as few obstacles between you, your clients and your Neighbornode main unit, repeater, or access point as possible. In this case, less is more. One more thing: If you decide to use a pole mounted antenna on the roof it will be advisable to mount the repeater or access point and amplifier in a waterproof box (NEMA 400 type) and connect to the high antenna with a very short,(less than 3 feet) pigtail or LMR400 cable to minimize cable loss. Using a long cable can be quite lossy at 2.4 GHZ. Put the whole she-bang in the waterproof box and mount it just below the high gain antenna. All that is required is to run power and the category 5 cable, (In the case you decide to make it an access point you need the addition of a cat5 cable that is connected to one of the available 4 ports of the WRT54G, but not when used as a repeater. Yeah, I'll explain the use of the cat5 cable later too.) Using the access point method depicted next in Method Two will provide better service.
METHOD TWO
Uses an access point connected to port one of the WRT54G.
I have set the SSID of the access point to be: Neighbornode - MODE B.
You can use anything you want but include the word:
Neighbornode as part of your SSID. I use the HAWKING HWBA54G wireless
access point and bridge I also use the HSB1 power amplifier. Also in that
configuration is the use of a high gain 9 DBI gain roof mounted omni-directional
antenna fed with LMR-400 cable that is 15 feet long. I use
the HWBA54G it in access point mode. The access point needs to be
connected to the WRT54G' port connection via a cat5 LAN cable. I
connect it to port 1 but you can connect it to any one of the 4 ports you like.
So, I mount the high gain antenna on the roof on top of a pole,
mounted to the outside of the house just outside the side entrance to my LAB.
I run the cable down the pole and into an access port just above the door.
It is a very short cable. The shorter the better.
Just inside the door I connect the other end of the cable to the
output of the HSB1, which is connected via a pigtail to the HWBA54G.
Both units are powered by a wall wart transformer.
A 75' cat 5 cable runs from the access point to the port 1 of the WRT54G
located else where in the lab.
With a category 5 cable, you can separate the access point almost 300
feet away from the WRT54G. Actually, that is true no matter what device you use.
Once set up, the access point reliably
allows wireless connections from computers very far away,
(several thousand feet), without the use of repeaters. I also put the
access point on a different channel than my WRT54G to further minimize
interference. You can't do that with a REPEATER if you recall.
So, Lets review: A repeater is simple to implement. No hardwire
connection is required between the repeater and WRT54G.
It's downside is greater channel congestion with sometimes packet
collisions requiring the re-sending of data. That slows things down a bit.
Limited connectivity. Only a handful of stations can connect
simultaneously on a repeater.
An access point however, provides greater thru-put, further range,
less channel congestion, more reliable connections with more power
& sensitivity. A category 5 cable is required for constant connection
with the WRT54G; and the overall expense is greater but the system
performance is much better. I Use this method because I wish to further
experiment with range increasing techniques & because I had one
laying around in the LAB..
As I said, using HAWKING access points in repeater mode is the easiest
way to greatly extend your Neighbornode’s coverage area.
I also indicated that method was sometimes problematic.
Still another solution to the range question is to use two
access points back to back in BRIDGE mode.
In this case the WAN ports of each access point are connected
together with a short Category 5 cable. Different antennas may be connected
to each of the access points, depending on your situation. The coverage area will begin
anew from that point. The Neighbornode SSID may be used with
all units and they will reliably relay connections from the
local computer to your master Neighbornode WRT54G box.
This is especially useful in very long extensions.
Corner reflector antennas or Yagis may be used to ‘beam’
your signal to remote regions or to another bridge system.
A couple Ham friend of mine used that method, along with ½ watt
amplifiers from Hawking and 4 foot dish antennas to relay their
signal 350 miles up the SanJauquin Valley out here in California.
It took two bridge systems in between base stations to complete the hookup.
They also had to adjust the software so the timeout function was increased so the
units would not start to resend the data because they did not get a timely response
from the remote unit. Even traveling at the speed of light, distances over 18 miles have to
be adjusted to compensate for the propagation delays.
It can really get wild!
I have the other three ports on my WRT54G to play with.
I may add another access point to port Two and connect it to
a dish antenna (42 inches) and aim it at my ranch in the mountains
18 miles away, as the crow flies. I will be able to connect using
the camera tripod mounted 14 DBI corner reflector aimed back at the
dish. Neet huh?. Yeah, I have a Sprint wireless card for my computer
but who wants to pay for all that when I can connect to my own network
& the internet, for free, at home, from my ranch home? It will require
the use of the 500 milliwatt amplifiers on each end however.
Using that setup, the possible range is over 80 miles.
I would have to do some adjustment delays to the timeout before
repeating of packets to prevent repeats and collisions.
If you are into experimentation clearly the access point route is
the way to go.
There you have it except for the omni directional antennas I used.
There are several vendors who supply antennas.
I like using the HAWKING equipment because they sell everything,
including the cable, that is needed for your installation; all of it
available at the CompUSA web site. There are other vendors who offer
a 16 DBI antenna that is omni-directional but cost much more than the
9-DBI omnidirectional antenna provided by HAWKING. Be advised,
HAWKING predicates their performance with the use of their 10 foot
cable and some of the other suppliers don't. That really means the gain of
the HAWKING antenna is better than some of the other published antennas who
don't take into consideration feed line length in their gain
calculations and subsequent gain publication. Their gain figures may
indicate higher antenna gain but their performance may be considerably
less. Use HAWKING equipment for the best results. There are notable exceptions
however. WIFI-Link is one of those 'good' guys that publish honest specs.
If you are interested go here:
http://www.wifi-link.com/product.php?action=product&class1_id=1&class2_id=50&class3_id=164&product_id=19
It probably best to copy and paste the url into your browser's URL line, heh heh.
No, I do not own stock in HAWKING or WIFI-LINK. All of the hardware mentioned here
is perfectly legal to use and is available off the shelf at your local
computer supply store or via the network at one of the online computer
equipment supply houses. I use COMPUSA because their prices are reasonable,
they are pleasant to do business with and they ship overnight. Have fun.
Oh yeah, before I forget. If you really want to vastly increase your range far past
what we have discussed here; then get yourself an amateur radio license.
Under FCC part 97, vastly increased power levels are allowed.
Very high gain antennas are also allowed under Part 97.
This increased power level with the resulting increased
energy density will provide greater signal to noise ratios allowing greater transmission
speeds over longer distances. Several manufacturers will provide higher power amplifiers to
any amateur radio operator who provides a copy of their license.
Now we are talking power levels of 10, 20 watts, or more!. Really cool! Think about it.
Check out: http://www.arrl.org.
Modified 10/27/2005
FAQ
Question:
HOW CAN I PROVIDE A NEIGHBORNODE SERVICE WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING THE SECURITY OF MY HOME OR OFFICE SYSTEM?
Answer:
I am going to assume you already have an existing home network or one that needs to be protected.
I also am going to assume the home network is made by Linksys, but it doesn’t have to be.
Most are but this technique will work with any system. As you know the default IP of the
Linksys router & switch is 192.168.1.1. This is the same no matter how many ports
your router/switch has.
Hook your WRT54G to an available port on the main switch.
Change the IP of the WRT54G from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1.
When you do that the systems will be totally separate from each other.
People connected to the WRT54G will not be able to see the computers connected
to the main router and visa versa. This is a technique used by technicians to
separate sales, lab, etc from payroll for instance. Yet they all will have access
to the INTERNET. Now, the main point to remember is if you are using like equipment
like Linksys, the IP’s of the routers have to be different if you want to keep them separate.
If you want to share the whole home network with the world then the IP of the second
router (WRT54G) would be set to 192.168.1.2. That is why it is good to change the WRT54G’s IP.
There is one more thing to remember. Computers connected to other available 4 ports of the WRT54G
can talk to each other and can see each other’s files if file sharing is enabled on those
computers. It is best to hook only access points to the available ports of the WRT54G;
and that only if you want to expand the capability of your Neighbornode system.
Question:
WILL USERS ON THE NEIGHBORNODE SLOW DOWN MY INTERNET BROWSING?
Answer:
Yes, a little but it is barely noticeable. Really!
If you are concerned you can slow down the data thruput of the
WRT54G by setting the connect speed to 1 or 2 instead of 56 KB
or somewhere in between.
Your Linksys will automatically slow down the thruput in marginal
conditions. You can permanently slow down the ‘public’ connection
leaving more for you. The impact of an occasional user or several
simultaneous users is minor.
Anyway, providing a little internet access & bulletin board to your
friends is why you are doing this in the first place. Isn’t it?
Don’t worry about it. Life is good. Spread the joy.
THE NEXT PHOTO IS OF THE WI-FI ANTENNA USED FOR THE NEIGHBORNODE SYSTEM HERE.
IT IS ON A 15 FOOT MAST AND IS FED WITH LMR-600 TO REDUCE TRANSMISSION LINE LOSS.
The first picture shows how I installed the Neighbornode - MODE B access point
in my garage at the base of the 15 foot mast. You can blow it up to see the connections better.
As you can see, the black pigtail
leaves the access point on the upper left of the access point and routes to the input of the power amplifier
on the left side. The output of the power amplifier, (right side), uses a white pigtale that routes
to the fat LMR400 cable via a static discharge device in the left side.
You can also see the white wire that is affixed to the bottom of the static discharge
device which routes off to the left. Unseen in that view, is where the wire connects to a cold water pipe; but it does.
Both the pigtails, (black & white) and the static discharge device are supplied
with the HAWKING equipment. Everything is complete. The LAN cable routes to port 1
of the WRT54G at the other end of the lab, aproximately 75 feet.
A 100 foot Category 5 cable from Radio Shack worked perfectly.
The access point is installed just inside the garage wall to protect it from the weather.
I could have obeyed my own advice and place the access point in a waterproof box and mount it
just below the pole mounted antenna, feeding the antenna with a short pigtail),
thus avoiding the loss of 15 feet of cable. I didn't.
OK I confess. Do what I say, not what I do. It will work the best.
But not that much better, however. 15 feet of LMR600 cable will reduce
your output power by approximately 1/6. Your Receive sensitivity is marginally affected by the same.
Only those stations far, in the distance, at the edge of your coverage area
will notice any reduction in thruput.
Do not buy the 30 foot cable supplied by HAWKING or anyone. The loss will be too great.
If you must use a longer antenna feed cable other than a 19 inch pigtail,
use the 15 foot cable offered by HAWKING, no longer.
Notice the IP stickers I placed on the outside of the access point by using my handy label maker.
I don't know what I would do without that wonderful machine. It has saved my neck by jogging
my memory far too often to mention, without great embarrassment.
The sticker on the left, (192.168.1.240) is the default IP of the access point
which is used to program the operating parameters via the web access to the access point.
The sticker on the right, (192.168.2.101) is the IP provided automatically by the WRT54G to the
access point and is the IP I use to connect to the access point
should I want to adjust any of it's operating parameters.
If you try to use the default IP, you will never connect. That is why I put the blue arrow pointing to
the IP I am supposed to use while that device is connected to the Neighbornode WRT54G.
This helps to keep me on track and reduce the confusion.
Should you later decide to use the access point as part of your house or office network; you would have
to use the original IP, (192.168.1.240). WHEW! Did I really say all that? How about misspelled words?
How many?
I hope I did not put you to sleep.
You still awake? OH well, the Third picture shows how I have configured the NEIGHBORNODE base station.
If you look carefully, you will notice the port 8 lamp on the switch is illuminated. That port
that is connected to the WRT54G' WAN port. Ports 1 of the WRT54G is connected to the NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B
long range access point which is shown in the above pictures. Port #2 of the switch goes to an old laptop computer I use
to chat with my MIRC buddies etc. IT also used for ocassional adjustments of the WRT54G. For instance
this morning I realised that no one was connecting to my NEIGHBORNODE through the main unit so,
I have lowered the output power of the WRT54G to below factory defaults.
I only use it in the lab here and it is located less than 10 feet from the computer used. All the other
communication through my NEIGORNODE, (by my neighbors) is done through the high power
NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B access point. I have replaced the stock antennas with 7 dbi gain antennas from Linksys.
That one addition did a lot to increase my range from the base unit.
At the reduced power settings now used, the higher gain antennas fill out my lab just about right.
Let me make myself clear. I have reduced the power level of my main unit only because I have
a high power access point mounted on my roof connected to port 1 of the main unit to handle all of
the Neighbors connection requirments. If I did not have the access point,(NEIGHBORNODE MODE - B),
I would be obliged to increase the power of my main unit and position it for optimum coverage. As it is now
it works just fine in the lab in the corner, on top of the speakers of my stereo unit.:)
QUESTION:
How do you solar power the repeater?
ANSWER:
Gather the equipment listed and connect them together as discussed here.
Connect the batteries in series using the blade fuse holder between the batteries.
You will notice the batteries have their terminals towards one side of the top of the battery.
I positioned the batteries so their terminals are as close to each other as possible. Even then,
They will still be about 1 inch apart. Tape the batteries together using 2" wide Mylar tape.
Use a lot of it. I tape it horizontally as around the center top to bottom. The batteries should
have their plus and minus poles close together on each end. On one of the ends of the two batteries,
solder the fuse holder, one to a Plus terminal the other end of the fuse holder to the
minus terminal adjacent to it. When you put a fuse into the holder you
will then have a 12 volt battery rather than two 6 volt bateries.
The battery will self disconnect if the current exceeds 3 amps. The total
current should never exceed 2 amps even under full solar charge.
The extra 2 amps is a fudge factor. Should anything go wrong, the
fuse will blow immediately. Do not use a higher value fuse!
Connect output of the solar panel charge controller to the other unused
contacts at the other end of the battery. Next connect the solar panel
to the charge controller.
NOTE: The IPC Charge controller has the word BATTERY on top of the controller next to
a RED & Black wire pair. Those wires go to the battery.
The other end of the controller does not have a label.
It is those wires you connect the solar panel to.
The red wire of the solar panel goes to the RED + or POSITIVE input
wire of the IPC charge Controller. The black wire of the solar panel
connects to the BLACK – or NEGATIVE wire of the controller.
older and tape the connection well.
The RED wire of the IPC controller (LABELED BATTERY), goes to the + or POSITIVE terminal
of the battery. The Black wire of the IPC controller connects to
the – NEGATIVE terminal of the battery. Before you solder the connections;
Connect the wire with the white stripe of the Radio Shack power
cord to the + POSITIVE battery terminal where the RED wire of the
Charge controller was connected. Connect the plain black wire of
the power cord to the – NEGATIVE battery terminal where the Black
wire of the IPC charge controller was connected. Verify both wires
are securely soldered to each terminal of the battery. RED wire & BLACK wire with
white stripe to battery + POSITIVE and Black wire from IPC controller &
plain black wire from power cord to the – NEGATIVE terminal of battery.
Solder carefully. Put tape over the soldered connections. All is ready.
Plug in the 5 amp blade fuse into the fuse holder and
place the solar panel in the sun. As the battery is charging the yellow
LED will glow. Good Lord! Is he going to talk all day?
The Yellow and green LED’s will cycle on and off frequently
as the charge controller is working normally. When the battery is
charging the yellow LED will stay illuminated. When the battery is fully
charged the LED’s will cycle. Once the LED’s on the IPC Charge Controller
start to cycle the battery set is ready to connect to the HAWKING repeater.
I use a HAWKING repeater because it runs on a 12 volt DC wall wart so it
will work perfectly with this 12 volt solar system. See the drawing next.
Plug in the power plug into the power jack on the HAWKING.
Verify the blinking WAN lamp after a few moments. It's working!
Get one of these to protect your battery.
This is the battery I use for the solar power repeater system. Notice the placement
of the fuse holder on the right. For this configuration I use 2 X 12 amp,
6 volt, gel cell storage batteries, taped together to make one large storage battery.
I also use a cigar plug recepticle on the battery for easy connection
to a "Y" connector that I can use to connect the output of the charge controller,
(from the solar generation system) & the power plug to the HAWKING repeater. Every thing
plugs together quickly.
Place the batteries in the bottom of the bucket with the charge controller
next to them. Cut out a piece of box cardboard in a circle which will
just fit just inside of the bucket on top of the batteries and lay it
on top of the batteries. You can place the HAWKING repeater on top of
the cardboard with the antenna connected to it, inside the bucket.
Run the wires from the solar panel out and over the edge of the lip of
the bucket to the solar panel. Put the whole thing on your roof.
(I put mine on top of my swamp cooler). Lay the solar panel next to
the bucket and orient it so it faces a southerly direction.
Verify the WAN light on the repeater is flashing indicating all is
working properly. Fit the lid on top of the bucket tightly.
Put a plastic bag over the bucket and another bag over the first bag.
Fold the opening of the bags under the bucket so the bucket sits on
them and holds the bag closed. GEE WHIZ; He is going to talk forever!
I put a brick on top of my repeater’s
lid to keep the whole thing in place if the wind should blow too hard.
Give your repeater a couple pats on the lid and go down stairs.
You’re done except to occasionally verify the LED’s are cycling by 2PM.
On new batteries, the LED’s will cycle slowly.
On older batteries the LED’s will cycle more frequently.
The Batteries will keep the repeater alive for 5 days if it gets cloudy.
If it stays cloudy for 4 days it may take two days of full sun for the
batteries to fully recover. When the LED’s cycle you’re ok.
If not, you may have to add another solar panel to get more charging
current so the LED’s do cycle. In Southern California, one panel
is all that is required. Northern climates may require two. That’s
why we use the 10 amp hour batteries; to keep the repeater alive and
functioning during cloudy days. The charge controller is used to keep
the battery from overcharging and shorting its life.
The charge controller is a must so don’t scrimp. Also, do not use
lead acid storage batteries like those used in automobiles or motorcycles.
The acid fumes will destroy the electronics & deep discharge cycles will
destroy the lead-acid battery. Always use a Gel-cell or Nickel Metal Hydride battery.
EQUIPMENT LIST:
1 X 5 gallon plastic bucket/lid. (Home Depot), [$1]
2 X 6 volt 12 AMP gel-cell batteries. (Radio Shack) [$25] ea.
1 X ACCESS POINT/BRIDGE. [Use the HAWKING device] ($65)
1 X 7amp Charge controller (ipcglobal.com) (Auto Zone) [$20]
1 X Power cord with plug to fit HAWKING device, (Radio Shack) [$4]
1 X blade fuse holder with wires attached, (Auto Zone) [$1.50]
1 X box 5 AMP blade fuses,(aprox 10), (Auto Zone) [$1.25]
1 X 25 watt 17.5 (unloaded) volt solar panel, (Auto Zone) [$45]
1 X 25’ spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, RED,(Auto Zone) [$10]
1 X 25' spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, BLACK(AutoZone) [$10]
You will also need a soldering iron or gun, some solder,
electrical tape, Two large plastic bags, and some tools to
work the wire.
QUESTON:
What if I want to SOLAR POWER two ACCESS POINTS used in BRIDGE mode as suggested earlier?
ANSWER:
You will have to triple up on the solar panels and make two 12 volt Gel-cell wired up
in parallel to provide a larger storage battery. Remember, you are powering two ACCESS POINTS
and two HSB1 power amps, one for each bridge. The cost triples.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO READ
MY ALL PURPOSE DISCLAIMER & WARNING:
READ & HEAD THIS [not-so-fine] FINE PRINT:
Build this or any project I suggest at your own risk.
I am not responsible for any damage you cause or as a
result of the operation of or the possible miss
operation of this equipment.
I am not responsible for anything you do
regarding any thing I have told you do. ZIP. NADA. NOTHING!
Don't come crying to me if you burn you house down. Be careful with
storage batteries, or any kind of batteries.
You could be burned. You could burn your house down!
You could hurt yourself, or others.
Always use a proper fuse in your electrical circuits!
If there is the slightest doubt in your mind about your
ability to connect and use this equipment properly and safely;
DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Don't wire the battery backwards!
You could burn out your HAWKING repeater or worse.
I'm not a legal whiz so, do not take the lack of
anything I indicate here as a green light to take me to court over a technicality
or a misspell. When I say I'm not responsible for anything regarding
what you read here on this web site or what you do as a result of
what you read here on this web site or what is suggested you do by reading the
information on this web site or any other suggestion or inNuendo;
I mean it!
ALSO: I should point out now that I don't claim that the above design is fit for
any purpose, and don't accept any liability for use of the design,
or any antenna based on this design. If you want to build a range booster
using this design, then you are responsible for ensuring that it doesn't
breach any laws where you are, and is compatible with any hardware you connect
it to. If in doubt, don't build this thing. If you don't agree completely with
What I said here. Don't build this thing.
CAPICE?........ If you don't CAPICE,
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you don't agree in total to what is said or
what is implied in this disclaimer, whether INDICATED or not;
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you are a SPAZ, MORON, IDIOT, INCOMPETANT, JERK, KLUTZ, ANY REASON AT ALL or
your butter just slipped off your bisket:
WAIT A MINUTE! I'm a SPAZ. OK,,, forget the SPAZ thing. -- Continue.
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
Above all else,
DON'T BE A PUTZ !
Use common sense and don't bug me about legal issues.
Also, don't bug me about the verbIage.
END
Modified 11/01/2005
RETURN
Uses an access point connected to port one of the WRT54G. I have set the SSID of the access point to be: Neighbornode - MODE B. You can use anything you want but include the word: Neighbornode as part of your SSID. I use the HAWKING HWBA54G wireless access point and bridge I also use the HSB1 power amplifier. Also in that configuration is the use of a high gain 9 DBI gain roof mounted omni-directional antenna fed with LMR-400 cable that is 15 feet long. I use the HWBA54G it in access point mode. The access point needs to be connected to the WRT54G' port connection via a cat5 LAN cable. I connect it to port 1 but you can connect it to any one of the 4 ports you like. So, I mount the high gain antenna on the roof on top of a pole, mounted to the outside of the house just outside the side entrance to my LAB. I run the cable down the pole and into an access port just above the door. It is a very short cable. The shorter the better. Just inside the door I connect the other end of the cable to the output of the HSB1, which is connected via a pigtail to the HWBA54G. Both units are powered by a wall wart transformer. A 75' cat 5 cable runs from the access point to the port 1 of the WRT54G located else where in the lab. With a category 5 cable, you can separate the access point almost 300 feet away from the WRT54G. Actually, that is true no matter what device you use. Once set up, the access point reliably allows wireless connections from computers very far away, (several thousand feet), without the use of repeaters. I also put the access point on a different channel than my WRT54G to further minimize interference. You can't do that with a REPEATER if you recall. So, Lets review: A repeater is simple to implement. No hardwire connection is required between the repeater and WRT54G. It's downside is greater channel congestion with sometimes packet collisions requiring the re-sending of data. That slows things down a bit. Limited connectivity. Only a handful of stations can connect simultaneously on a repeater. An access point however, provides greater thru-put, further range, less channel congestion, more reliable connections with more power & sensitivity. A category 5 cable is required for constant connection with the WRT54G; and the overall expense is greater but the system performance is much better. I Use this method because I wish to further experiment with range increasing techniques & because I had one laying around in the LAB..
As I said, using HAWKING access points in repeater mode is the easiest way to greatly extend your Neighbornode’s coverage area. I also indicated that method was sometimes problematic. Still another solution to the range question is to use two access points back to back in BRIDGE mode. In this case the WAN ports of each access point are connected together with a short Category 5 cable. Different antennas may be connected to each of the access points, depending on your situation. The coverage area will begin anew from that point. The Neighbornode SSID may be used with all units and they will reliably relay connections from the local computer to your master Neighbornode WRT54G box. This is especially useful in very long extensions. Corner reflector antennas or Yagis may be used to ‘beam’ your signal to remote regions or to another bridge system. A couple Ham friend of mine used that method, along with ½ watt amplifiers from Hawking and 4 foot dish antennas to relay their signal 350 miles up the SanJauquin Valley out here in California. It took two bridge systems in between base stations to complete the hookup. They also had to adjust the software so the timeout function was increased so the units would not start to resend the data because they did not get a timely response from the remote unit. Even traveling at the speed of light, distances over 18 miles have to be adjusted to compensate for the propagation delays. It can really get wild!
I have the other three ports on my WRT54G to play with. I may add another access point to port Two and connect it to a dish antenna (42 inches) and aim it at my ranch in the mountains 18 miles away, as the crow flies. I will be able to connect using the camera tripod mounted 14 DBI corner reflector aimed back at the dish. Neet huh?. Yeah, I have a Sprint wireless card for my computer but who wants to pay for all that when I can connect to my own network & the internet, for free, at home, from my ranch home? It will require the use of the 500 milliwatt amplifiers on each end however. Using that setup, the possible range is over 80 miles. I would have to do some adjustment delays to the timeout before repeating of packets to prevent repeats and collisions. If you are into experimentation clearly the access point route is the way to go.
There you have it except for the omni directional antennas I used. There are several vendors who supply antennas. I like using the HAWKING equipment because they sell everything, including the cable, that is needed for your installation; all of it available at the CompUSA web site. There are other vendors who offer a 16 DBI antenna that is omni-directional but cost much more than the 9-DBI omnidirectional antenna provided by HAWKING. Be advised, HAWKING predicates their performance with the use of their 10 foot cable and some of the other suppliers don't. That really means the gain of the HAWKING antenna is better than some of the other published antennas who don't take into consideration feed line length in their gain calculations and subsequent gain publication. Their gain figures may indicate higher antenna gain but their performance may be considerably less. Use HAWKING equipment for the best results. There are notable exceptions however. WIFI-Link is one of those 'good' guys that publish honest specs. If you are interested go here: http://www.wifi-link.com/product.php?action=product&class1_id=1&class2_id=50&class3_id=164&product_id=19 It probably best to copy and paste the url into your browser's URL line, heh heh. No, I do not own stock in HAWKING or WIFI-LINK. All of the hardware mentioned here is perfectly legal to use and is available off the shelf at your local computer supply store or via the network at one of the online computer equipment supply houses. I use COMPUSA because their prices are reasonable, they are pleasant to do business with and they ship overnight. Have fun. Oh yeah, before I forget. If you really want to vastly increase your range far past what we have discussed here; then get yourself an amateur radio license. Under FCC part 97, vastly increased power levels are allowed. Very high gain antennas are also allowed under Part 97. This increased power level with the resulting increased energy density will provide greater signal to noise ratios allowing greater transmission speeds over longer distances. Several manufacturers will provide higher power amplifiers to any amateur radio operator who provides a copy of their license. Now we are talking power levels of 10, 20 watts, or more!. Really cool! Think about it. Check out: http://www.arrl.org.
Modified 10/27/2005
FAQ
Question:
HOW CAN I PROVIDE A NEIGHBORNODE SERVICE WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING THE SECURITY OF MY HOME OR OFFICE SYSTEM?
Answer: I am going to assume you already have an existing home network or one that needs to be protected. I also am going to assume the home network is made by Linksys, but it doesn’t have to be. Most are but this technique will work with any system. As you know the default IP of the Linksys router & switch is 192.168.1.1. This is the same no matter how many ports your router/switch has. Hook your WRT54G to an available port on the main switch. Change the IP of the WRT54G from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1. When you do that the systems will be totally separate from each other. People connected to the WRT54G will not be able to see the computers connected to the main router and visa versa. This is a technique used by technicians to separate sales, lab, etc from payroll for instance. Yet they all will have access to the INTERNET. Now, the main point to remember is if you are using like equipment like Linksys, the IP’s of the routers have to be different if you want to keep them separate. If you want to share the whole home network with the world then the IP of the second router (WRT54G) would be set to 192.168.1.2. That is why it is good to change the WRT54G’s IP. There is one more thing to remember. Computers connected to other available 4 ports of the WRT54G can talk to each other and can see each other’s files if file sharing is enabled on those computers. It is best to hook only access points to the available ports of the WRT54G; and that only if you want to expand the capability of your Neighbornode system.
Question:
WILL USERS ON THE NEIGHBORNODE SLOW DOWN MY INTERNET BROWSING?
Answer: Yes, a little but it is barely noticeable. Really! If you are concerned you can slow down the data thruput of the WRT54G by setting the connect speed to 1 or 2 instead of 56 KB or somewhere in between. Your Linksys will automatically slow down the thruput in marginal conditions. You can permanently slow down the ‘public’ connection leaving more for you. The impact of an occasional user or several simultaneous users is minor. Anyway, providing a little internet access & bulletin board to your friends is why you are doing this in the first place. Isn’t it? Don’t worry about it. Life is good. Spread the joy.
The first picture shows how I installed the Neighbornode - MODE B access point in my garage at the base of the 15 foot mast. You can blow it up to see the connections better. As you can see, the black pigtail leaves the access point on the upper left of the access point and routes to the input of the power amplifier on the left side. The output of the power amplifier, (right side), uses a white pigtale that routes to the fat LMR400 cable via a static discharge device in the left side. You can also see the white wire that is affixed to the bottom of the static discharge device which routes off to the left. Unseen in that view, is where the wire connects to a cold water pipe; but it does. Both the pigtails, (black & white) and the static discharge device are supplied with the HAWKING equipment. Everything is complete. The LAN cable routes to port 1 of the WRT54G at the other end of the lab, aproximately 75 feet. A 100 foot Category 5 cable from Radio Shack worked perfectly. The access point is installed just inside the garage wall to protect it from the weather. I could have obeyed my own advice and place the access point in a waterproof box and mount it just below the pole mounted antenna, feeding the antenna with a short pigtail), thus avoiding the loss of 15 feet of cable. I didn't. OK I confess. Do what I say, not what I do. It will work the best. But not that much better, however. 15 feet of LMR600 cable will reduce your output power by approximately 1/6. Your Receive sensitivity is marginally affected by the same. Only those stations far, in the distance, at the edge of your coverage area will notice any reduction in thruput. Do not buy the 30 foot cable supplied by HAWKING or anyone. The loss will be too great. If you must use a longer antenna feed cable other than a 19 inch pigtail, use the 15 foot cable offered by HAWKING, no longer. Notice the IP stickers I placed on the outside of the access point by using my handy label maker. I don't know what I would do without that wonderful machine. It has saved my neck by jogging my memory far too often to mention, without great embarrassment. The sticker on the left, (192.168.1.240) is the default IP of the access point which is used to program the operating parameters via the web access to the access point. The sticker on the right, (192.168.2.101) is the IP provided automatically by the WRT54G to the access point and is the IP I use to connect to the access point should I want to adjust any of it's operating parameters. If you try to use the default IP, you will never connect. That is why I put the blue arrow pointing to the IP I am supposed to use while that device is connected to the Neighbornode WRT54G. This helps to keep me on track and reduce the confusion. Should you later decide to use the access point as part of your house or office network; you would have to use the original IP, (192.168.1.240). WHEW! Did I really say all that? How about misspelled words? How many? I hope I did not put you to sleep. You still awake? OH well, the Third picture shows how I have configured the NEIGHBORNODE base station. If you look carefully, you will notice the port 8 lamp on the switch is illuminated. That port that is connected to the WRT54G' WAN port. Ports 1 of the WRT54G is connected to the NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B long range access point which is shown in the above pictures. Port #2 of the switch goes to an old laptop computer I use to chat with my MIRC buddies etc. IT also used for ocassional adjustments of the WRT54G. For instance this morning I realised that no one was connecting to my NEIGHBORNODE through the main unit so, I have lowered the output power of the WRT54G to below factory defaults. I only use it in the lab here and it is located less than 10 feet from the computer used. All the other communication through my NEIGORNODE, (by my neighbors) is done through the high power NEIGHBORNODE MODE-B access point. I have replaced the stock antennas with 7 dbi gain antennas from Linksys. That one addition did a lot to increase my range from the base unit. At the reduced power settings now used, the higher gain antennas fill out my lab just about right. Let me make myself clear. I have reduced the power level of my main unit only because I have a high power access point mounted on my roof connected to port 1 of the main unit to handle all of the Neighbors connection requirments. If I did not have the access point,(NEIGHBORNODE MODE - B), I would be obliged to increase the power of my main unit and position it for optimum coverage. As it is now it works just fine in the lab in the corner, on top of the speakers of my stereo unit.:)
QUESTION:
How do you solar power the repeater?
ANSWER:
Gather the equipment listed and connect them together as discussed here.
Connect the batteries in series using the blade fuse holder between the batteries. You will notice the batteries have their terminals towards one side of the top of the battery. I positioned the batteries so their terminals are as close to each other as possible. Even then, They will still be about 1 inch apart. Tape the batteries together using 2" wide Mylar tape. Use a lot of it. I tape it horizontally as around the center top to bottom. The batteries should have their plus and minus poles close together on each end. On one of the ends of the two batteries, solder the fuse holder, one to a Plus terminal the other end of the fuse holder to the minus terminal adjacent to it. When you put a fuse into the holder you will then have a 12 volt battery rather than two 6 volt bateries. The battery will self disconnect if the current exceeds 3 amps. The total current should never exceed 2 amps even under full solar charge. The extra 2 amps is a fudge factor. Should anything go wrong, the fuse will blow immediately. Do not use a higher value fuse! Connect output of the solar panel charge controller to the other unused contacts at the other end of the battery. Next connect the solar panel to the charge controller.
NOTE: The IPC Charge controller has the word BATTERY on top of the controller next to a RED & Black wire pair. Those wires go to the battery. The other end of the controller does not have a label. It is those wires you connect the solar panel to. The red wire of the solar panel goes to the RED + or POSITIVE input wire of the IPC charge Controller. The black wire of the solar panel connects to the BLACK – or NEGATIVE wire of the controller. older and tape the connection well. The RED wire of the IPC controller (LABELED BATTERY), goes to the + or POSITIVE terminal of the battery. The Black wire of the IPC controller connects to the – NEGATIVE terminal of the battery. Before you solder the connections; Connect the wire with the white stripe of the Radio Shack power cord to the + POSITIVE battery terminal where the RED wire of the Charge controller was connected. Connect the plain black wire of the power cord to the – NEGATIVE battery terminal where the Black wire of the IPC charge controller was connected. Verify both wires are securely soldered to each terminal of the battery. RED wire & BLACK wire with white stripe to battery + POSITIVE and Black wire from IPC controller & plain black wire from power cord to the – NEGATIVE terminal of battery. Solder carefully. Put tape over the soldered connections. All is ready. Plug in the 5 amp blade fuse into the fuse holder and place the solar panel in the sun. As the battery is charging the yellow LED will glow. Good Lord! Is he going to talk all day? The Yellow and green LED’s will cycle on and off frequently as the charge controller is working normally. When the battery is charging the yellow LED will stay illuminated. When the battery is fully charged the LED’s will cycle. Once the LED’s on the IPC Charge Controller start to cycle the battery set is ready to connect to the HAWKING repeater. I use a HAWKING repeater because it runs on a 12 volt DC wall wart so it will work perfectly with this 12 volt solar system. See the drawing next. Plug in the power plug into the power jack on the HAWKING. Verify the blinking WAN lamp after a few moments. It's working!
Place the batteries in the bottom of the bucket with the charge controller next to them. Cut out a piece of box cardboard in a circle which will just fit just inside of the bucket on top of the batteries and lay it on top of the batteries. You can place the HAWKING repeater on top of the cardboard with the antenna connected to it, inside the bucket. Run the wires from the solar panel out and over the edge of the lip of the bucket to the solar panel. Put the whole thing on your roof. (I put mine on top of my swamp cooler). Lay the solar panel next to the bucket and orient it so it faces a southerly direction. Verify the WAN light on the repeater is flashing indicating all is working properly. Fit the lid on top of the bucket tightly. Put a plastic bag over the bucket and another bag over the first bag. Fold the opening of the bags under the bucket so the bucket sits on them and holds the bag closed. GEE WHIZ; He is going to talk forever! I put a brick on top of my repeater’s lid to keep the whole thing in place if the wind should blow too hard. Give your repeater a couple pats on the lid and go down stairs. You’re done except to occasionally verify the LED’s are cycling by 2PM. On new batteries, the LED’s will cycle slowly. On older batteries the LED’s will cycle more frequently. The Batteries will keep the repeater alive for 5 days if it gets cloudy. If it stays cloudy for 4 days it may take two days of full sun for the batteries to fully recover. When the LED’s cycle you’re ok. If not, you may have to add another solar panel to get more charging current so the LED’s do cycle. In Southern California, one panel is all that is required. Northern climates may require two. That’s why we use the 10 amp hour batteries; to keep the repeater alive and functioning during cloudy days. The charge controller is used to keep the battery from overcharging and shorting its life. The charge controller is a must so don’t scrimp. Also, do not use lead acid storage batteries like those used in automobiles or motorcycles. The acid fumes will destroy the electronics & deep discharge cycles will destroy the lead-acid battery. Always use a Gel-cell or Nickel Metal Hydride battery.
1 X 5 gallon plastic bucket/lid. (Home Depot), [$1]
2 X 6 volt 12 AMP gel-cell batteries. (Radio Shack) [$25] ea.
1 X ACCESS POINT/BRIDGE. [Use the HAWKING device] ($65)
1 X 7amp Charge controller (ipcglobal.com) (Auto Zone) [$20]
1 X Power cord with plug to fit HAWKING device, (Radio Shack) [$4]
1 X blade fuse holder with wires attached, (Auto Zone) [$1.50]
1 X box 5 AMP blade fuses,(aprox 10), (Auto Zone) [$1.25]
1 X 25 watt 17.5 (unloaded) volt solar panel, (Auto Zone) [$45]
1 X 25’ spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, RED,(Auto Zone) [$10]
1 X 25' spool of 14 gauge hookup wire, BLACK(AutoZone) [$10]
You will also need a soldering iron or gun, some solder, electrical tape, Two large plastic bags, and some tools to work the wire.
QUESTON:
What if I want to SOLAR POWER two ACCESS POINTS used in BRIDGE mode as suggested earlier?
ANSWER:
You will have to triple up on the solar panels and make two 12 volt Gel-cell wired up in parallel to provide a larger storage battery. Remember, you are powering two ACCESS POINTS and two HSB1 power amps, one for each bridge. The cost triples.
READ & HEAD THIS [not-so-fine] FINE PRINT:
Build this or any project I suggest at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage you cause or as a result of the operation of or the possible miss operation of this equipment. I am not responsible for anything you do regarding any thing I have told you do. ZIP. NADA. NOTHING! Don't come crying to me if you burn you house down. Be careful with storage batteries, or any kind of batteries. You could be burned. You could burn your house down! You could hurt yourself, or others. Always use a proper fuse in your electrical circuits! If there is the slightest doubt in your mind about your ability to connect and use this equipment properly and safely; DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Don't wire the battery backwards! You could burn out your HAWKING repeater or worse. I'm not a legal whiz so, do not take the lack of anything I indicate here as a green light to take me to court over a technicality or a misspell. When I say I'm not responsible for anything regarding what you read here on this web site or what you do as a result of what you read here on this web site or what is suggested you do by reading the information on this web site or any other suggestion or inNuendo;
CAPICE?........ If you don't CAPICE,
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you don't agree in total to what is said or what is implied in this disclaimer, whether INDICATED or not;
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
If you are a SPAZ, MORON, IDIOT, INCOMPETANT, JERK, KLUTZ, ANY REASON AT ALL or your butter just slipped off your bisket:
WAIT A MINUTE! I'm a SPAZ. OK,,, forget the SPAZ thing. -- Continue.
DON'T BUILD THIS THING!
Above all else,
DON'T BE A PUTZ !
Use common sense and don't bug me about legal issues. Also, don't bug me about the verbIage.
Modified 11/01/2005